The Sakura Portal
by my-silver-lining
Summary: Natsume and Mikan accidentally find a portal that leads to a different place. They happen to be transported to the Sohma's house--and land straight through the ceiling! How will the characters react? Will everyone get along? Read to find out! Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N **Hey everyone! :] This is my first story, so please try to bear with me here! And sorry if the characters seem OOC -- I tried my best to make them in character . Anyways, please enjoy the story!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fruits Basket or Gakuen Alice.

* * *

**Gakuen Alice meets Fruits Basket**

_Chapter 1_ - _the meeting_

**Mikan's POV**

I grinned and giggled. Even though Natusme's biting words just now should've upset me, I couldn't help myself. For some reason, even arguing with Natsume made me happy – sort of.

"Baka, why are you giggling over there?" Natsume asked gruffly.

I turned to realize Natsume had dropped his manga and was now looking at me from the other side of the sakura tree. I just giggled again and shook my head. "I don't know." I murmured.

I turned my gaze upwards to look at the Sakura tree above us. It was in full bloom and gorgeous. I felt honored to be named after it.

Suddenly, a sharp gust of wind blew at us and the tree. It sent blossoms flying about us. Something unexpected happened then. The blossoms began to form a circle around us and the Sakura tree. They swirled madly around the tree, just getting faster and faster.

My breathing sped up with nervousness. Something was going on here. I slid over closer to Natsume and looked over at him. I could tell that, even though he didn't quite show it, he was just as startled by this behavior as I was.

Then I was knocked down roughly by a sudden force, and I saw no more.

**Tohru's POV**

"Supper's ready!" I called cheerfully.

"AUGH—stupid rat! I got here first!"

"No, I did, idiot."

"No way!"

"Yes way."

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!"

I sweat dropped as I listened to the usual argument before dinner. Actually, no, arguments were usual at _any _time in the Sohma house.

"Kyo, Yuki…" I began, trying to soothe them. I heard a bang and a crash. I winced. _Shigure-san's not going to be happy if they broke his door again…_

Thump thump thump CRASH!!!

"FREAKING OUCH! Dangit you're DEAD, rat!!!" I heard Kyo scream.

I rushed over to the steps where Kyo lay, apparently having just been pushed off the stairs.

"Guys, please stop…" I pleaded.

Kyo just sighed and got up. "Fine. But I'll get you back, stupid rat! Hear that?!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm so scared." Yuki muttered sarcastically as he came down the stairs.

When we came back into the kitchen, Shigure was there already, eating.

"Oh! Tohru, I hope you don't mind I served myself." Shigure said when he saw us come in.

"Oh, no, I don't mind at all." I replied. And with that, we all finally sat down to eat.

Just as I was about to take my first bite, a loud crash jolted us and something came falling from the ceiling.

I screamed with shock and Kyo fell out of his seat. It took me a moment to get out of shock, but when I did, I saw what had landed on our table.

There were two elementary kids on the table, groaning with pain. One was a very handsome black haired boy, and the other was a cute girl in pigtails.

The pigtailed girl opened her eyes and looked about her. She blinked her expressive brown eyes a few times. "What. . ." she murmured, trailing off, for she was clearly confused and in major shock. After a moment she finally took in Shigure, Yuki, Kyo, and me all staring at her. She gasped.

"Eep! Who are you people?! Where _am _I?!" she shrieked.

"Who are _you _is the question!" Kyo growled. "You just freaking broke our table!"

The girl blinked and looked under her. She bit her lip when she noticed the broken shards around her. "Er…sorry about that…" she muttered, still confused about what the heck was happening.

I suddenly realized the girl must be scared half to death. She didn't know us! And she looked like she hadn't expected to come here at all. I felt a pang of sorrow for the young girl and decided to be as friendly as possible to her.

"Ah—don't worry about that. I'm Tohru. It's very nice to meet you." I began, bowing.

The girl looked at me. "Oh. . . I'm Mikan. Nice to meet you too!" she smiled at me, and I returned it.

"Er, can you get off our table please? I think my good chopsticks are still under there…" Shigure began.

"Oh—sorry!" she squeaked, and climbed ungracefully off the broken talbe.

The boy that had come with the girl stirred and lifted his head. He tooka good look around him.

"Natsume!" Mikan exclaimed. "Good, you're awake."

Natsume turned to look at her. "Where the heck are we?" he asked bluntly.

"The Sohma house hold." Shigure replied calmly, answering Natsume's question. "I'm Shigure Sohma." He stood and bowed.

Natusme just stared blankly at him then looked away. He happened to turn his gaze onto me.

I instantly felt unsettled. His eyes were a bright, unusual crimson and they seemed like they had a blazing fire inside of them that could burn through anything…yet they were so cold and penetrating all the same. Even though I felt unsettled, I still held out my hand to help him out of the rubble.

"Here, I'll help—," I began, but his next move startled me. He slapped my hand away and leaped out of the broken table shards himself. "I don't need any help."

I was about to apologize when I heard Kyo growl. "You little punk! She was just trying to help you!" he yelled.

Natsume swiveled to glare daggers at Kyo. "I don't need help."

"Well you didn't have to slap her hand away like that!"

"I don't freaking care."

"Why you little--I'll kill you!!"  
"I'd like to see you try."

That did it for Kyo. He launched himself at the boy. I shut my eyes – I knew it wasn't going to end well. I heard a crash and opened my eyes to see what had happened. I gasped with shock when I saw that Natsume had dodged Kyo's blow.

Kyo cursed a storm and turned around, twice as furious. "What the crap!"

He launched another blow at Natsume, but he just dodged it again swiftly. "Is that the best you've got?" he challenged coldly.

Kyo cussed again (I wished he wouldn't!) and threw yet another well aimed blow at Natsume's face. This time Natsume caught it with his hand. Natsume almost smirked. "Don't make me laugh." He muttered and kicked Kyo into the wall.

I stared at Natsume with my mouth agape. Did he just _beat _Kyo?! Effortlessly?!

I saw that Yuki's expression was the same as mine. Shigure, however, seemed to be getting a kick out of it. "Haha, bravo! I didn't know you had that in you!" he exclaimed, clapping.

"Trained nothing." I heard Natsume snort.

Mikan's expression was a mixed combination of embarrassed and slightly frustrated. I even thought I saw some relief in there, but I had no idea why.

"Natsume, why did you do that to Tohru?! She was just trying to help you, you know," she scolded.

"Just shut up, okay, Polka Dots? I need to think," he snapped. Mikan pouted when he said this, but turned to look at me. She was about to say something when her stomach growled loudly. She giggled.

"Oh—Mikan! Why don't you share lunch with us?" Shigure suggested. "I wouldn't mind."

Mikan hesitated for a moment. Yuki sighed. "You might as well, since you're here. We can discuss how…you got here while we're doing that," he said quietly, speaking for the first time since they had crashed through the ceiling.

Mikan sighed and nodded. "Okay. But we can't stay for long," she told us, but she was obviously happy to be getting something to eat.

"Don't worry about it. I'll move the food outside, since we can't eat in here." I said, moving over to the fridge where I had, thankfully, put the extra food. I didn't think anyone would want to eat the food that had been on the table. I smiled at Mikan. "I'm sure we're going to be great friends."

* * *

**A/N **Hehehe I hope you liked the first chapter! Sorry it's a bit short x3 It seemed longer when I typed it up on word lol x3 I'll probably update soon since it's still Christmas break. Please review and fave if you liked :] Thank you!

**Preview for next Chapter!**

_"AUGH!!! MY HAIR!!! IT'S ON FIRE!!!! THAT FREAK!!!"_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Hey everyone! Thank you to all who favorited this and reviewed! I appreciate that so much! :] Anyway, please enjoy Chapter 2!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Fruits basket, it would still be making more books, and if I owned Gakuen Alice, there would be a heck a lot more NatsumeXMikan moments! :D unfortunately, I don't own either.

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Mikan's POV

We had decided to eat outside, since me and natsume had broke the Sohma's table coming in. As we ate lunch with them, I could tell the Sohmas were interesting people. I could already tell that Tohru and me were going to be great friends. The guys she was living with are Shigure, Kyo, and Yuki.

Shigure's very funny and kind -- he reminds me a bit of Narumi-sensei. Yuki is quiet and soft-spoken, but he seemed like a nice person. Kyo, on the other hand, reminded me of Natsume, except Kyo was louder and expressed his anger in a way more vocal and violent way. And he swore a lot. Also, Kyo, along with Tohru and Yuki, are all in highschool. Shigure is sort of their guardian.

So, as you can probably figure out, I got along with everyone(with the possible exception of Kyo). Natsume, however, instantly closed up. He only said something when someone asked him a question directly, and even then it was only a one-syllable word or a rude/sarcastic comment. Other than that, I was pretty comfortable here with the Sohmas.

I was still worried about how to get back home, though. How did we even get here?! The Sakura tree obviously had something to do with it, but still, that doesn't explain much. Who ever heard of a Sakura tree being a portal?

I had already told the Sohmas about where Natsume and me came from. I also told them about our powers, which started an interesting conversation . . .

"Oh really? Powers? What are these powers you have?" Shigure asked me interestedly when I had told him about our powers.

"Uh, well, I have nullification -- I can nullify other people's powers. Natsume can control fire." I explained, glancing over at stoic Natsume.

Shigure looked absolutely delighted. "Can you show us?" he asked eagerly.

Natsume snorted. "My pleasure."

I realized what he was about to do a second too late. "Wait -- Natsume --!" I began, but I couldn't stop him in time.

He set Kyo's orange hair on fire.

"AUGH!! MY HAIR!!! IT'S ON FIRE!!! THAT FREAK!!!" he screamed, dancing around and trying to pat the fire out.

Natsume smirked and leaned back, like he was relaxing to watch a show.

Tohru stood up and ran into the house. She came out a moment later with a bucket of water. She poured it over Kyo;s head. Shigure and Yuki were watching with mouths agape.

When Kyo had finally finished rubbing his hair and cursing he turned to face Natsume.

"YOU GOT SOME NERVE, PUNK!!!" he yelled, literally fuming with anger. Natsume just snorted.

Kyo looked like he was going to blow a gasket.

"Natsume. . ." I murmured. This wasn't going to end good. Natsume obviously wouldn't restrain from burning Kyo to a crisp. In fact, I think he's actually looking for a chance to do so. . .

And I can't let that happen! We just met these people! I was about to say something else to Natsume to try to stop him from causing another fight when a sudden voice startled me.

"Stop this."

I started and turned to see who the owner of the cold, unfamiliar voice was. A tall, pale skinned man with jet-black hair stood in the door way. Only one of his piercing silver-blue eyes showed--the other was covered by a piece of his black hair. Something about this man made me shiver.

"Hatori!" Shigure exclaimed. "What a pleasant surprise seeing you here!"

So they know this man . . . I thought wonderingly.

"What is going on here?" Hatori-san asked coldly.

"Er - H-hatori-san-this is Mikan-chan, and this is Natsume-san." Tohru said, bowing in respect and motioning to Natsume and me as she said our names. Hatori-san looked over Natsume and me emotionlessly.

I gazed up at him and grinned. "Ooooh you have such cool hair, Hatori-san!" I exclaimed, getting over the cold feeling I had when I first saw him.

Hatori-san gave me a weird look and then turned to Shigure-san. "Akito-san wants to see you, Shigure," he said coldly. "Now."

Shigure-san laughed and nodded. "Okay, okay. Always so serious and in such a rush, you two are . . ." he chuckled as he got up. "Excuse me, Mikan-chan and Natsume-san, but I must leave you for a while. I will be back shortly," he said with a smile and a bow.

I waved and grinned at him as he left with cold Hatori-san.

"So it's just us. Great." I heard Yuki mutter. I turned around to look at him and saw why he was stressed at this -- Natsume and Kyo were having another fight of theirs. They were glaring at each other nonstop. Tohru and me just sweat-dropped.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Yuki spoke up again. "I guess we should address the, er, problem at hand, if you know what I mean . . ." he muttered, looking at Natsume and me and sighing.

It took me a moment to realize what he meant, but when I did I nodded, but strangely it was reluctant. He was talking about how Natsume and me are supposed to get back home.

"Oh, yeah. Let's see . . .you know how we got here already – somehow through the Sakura tree. Maybe if we tried sitting under a Sakura tree around here – maybe that's the key." I suggested.

Yuki nodded. "It's worth a shot."

So, Yuki led us to a Sakura tree that happened to be hanging over the Sohma's house.

"Look at that! Right where the last branch hangs over the ceiling – that's where we dropped in! So it must have something to do with Sakura trees!" I exclaimed excitedly, running over to the base of the tall Sakura tree.

Yuki nodded. "It's looking like it. You probably should try sitting under the tree the same way you did when you were teleported here," he said.

"Okay. Come on Natsume, sit over there . . .wait, were you on the right side or the left side?" I wondered aloud, studying the tree.

Natsume brushed past me, and I heard him sigh. He sat down on the right side of the tree. I walked over to the other side – I hoped he remembered which sides we had been sitting on. But, hey, I didn't even know if it _mattered. _

So I sat down, and waited. And waited. And waited.

And nothing happened.

Yuki put his hand to his face and rubbed it wearily. Kyo grunted. "This is pointless," he muttered.

For once, I agreed with Kyo. "Yeah, it probably is. Well, it was worth a try . . ." I murmured, sighing. "What should we do now?"

"Well, there's no way I'm staying out here all night waiting for something to happen that probably never will." Natsume growled, getting up.

"Well, I-I could show you two the Sohma house . . ." Tohru suggested with a small smile.

I returned the smile. "That'd be awesome! We'll figure this out – but for now, let's forget about it." I said cheerfully and walked over to Tohru.

I heard Yuki sigh, and Kyo groaned loudly. "Whaaaat?! I have to deal with _this _idiot for the rest of the day?! Maybe even more?!" he complained angrily, glaring daggers at Natsume.

Natsume returned the loathesome glare. "You better shut your mouth, Orangey, or I'll do it for you," he growled menacingly.

Kyo growled and began fuming again. "What did you just call me, punk?!"

Natsume ignored him and walked towards the Sohma house.

"Answer me, idiot! Or I'll beat you to a pulp!"

I heard Natsume mutter, "Yeah. I'm so scared."

"WHY YOU LITTLE--!!! YOU'RE GONNA GET IT THIS TIME!!!"

And so began just one of the many, many fights of today.

~.*.~

"Wow, I'm beat! How do you _deal _with Kyo everyday? I'm worn after just one day of listening to him explode every five seconds!" I exclaimed, flopping down on the makeshift bed next to Tohru's.

"Oh, no. . . He's not this bad usually. Kyo does fight with Yuki a lot, but they're getting used to eachother a little more these days." Tohru replied with a smile.

"So Kyo and Yuki fight a lot then?"

"Yeah. They've always been . . .enemies, sort of, " she replied, and I thought I heard something else in her voice, but it was insignificant so I shrugged it off.

"Huh. That's interesting. Well, I can kind of see why, though – they have personalities that are bound to clash." I noted.

I heard Tohru sigh. "Yeah, I know that. . . but I always have this hope that I can change that one day. I think that they could really get along – they both admire each other deep inside, but they'd never admit that to one another, of course. But that's one of the real reasons they hate each other so much – they're jealous of the other's qualities . . . but they don't see their own." Tohru said thoughtfully, and there was sorrow in her voice as well.

I was impressed – she sure pays attention to details. And she really takes them into consideration, too.

"Well, anyway, we should probably be getting to bed now – it's late." Tohru said. "And I know you're tired from dealing with fighting boys," she added with a grin.

I grinned back and nodded. "That's for sure. Thanks for letting me sleep in your room – I wouldn't want to sleep in the same room with a grumpy Natsume." I laughed.

"Of course!" Tohru replied, laughing with me.

We both settled down after that. I sighed as I closed my eyes. Just as I drifted to sleep, the scent of Sakura blossoms crept up my nose . . .

~.*.~

Tohru's POV

I groaned – something didn't feel right about my bed. I shifted – but it still didn't feel right . . . it was too hard. Also, my limbs felt sore. I wondered if I had fell off the side of the bed in the middle of the night. That had to be it.

Then I remembered Mikan-chan – what I if I fell on top of her?! My eyelids flew open and I looked around me. What I saw was definitely not what I expected, though.

I was under a tall, full-blossomed Sakura tree. Mikan-chan was next to me, tossing and turning. It was just turning daylight, so I could see buildings around me. There were so many buldings – they all looked like school dorms. Where was I?!

"Tohru?" Mikan-chan murmured. "Where . . . are we?"

"Oh! Mikan-chan! You're awake!" I exclaimed, looking down at her.

Mikan-chan looked around her, slowly absorbing the sudden change in atmosphere. Suddenly comprehension appeared in her expressive brown eyes. "Whaaaaat?! We're – this is – this is Alice Academy! How did we get here?!" she exclaimed.

I gasped. "Oh! This is your school?!" I exclaimed, looking around me with new understanding.

"Yeah – but how the heck did we get here?!" Mikan-chan asked me.

"I-I don't know!" I replied, just as stunned as she was.

"Wait . . . there was a Sakura tree just outside of your room, wasn't there? And we left the window open, too!" she said excitedly. "We must've teleported here over night through the Sakura tree!" she continued, her eyes lighting up at the discovery.

"That must be it! But how do we get back? Do we just stay here?" I asked.

"No, I don't think we should do that . . . I think I should tell everyone that I'm back, first. You can meet my friends! And we'll tell the teachers too. They'll figure something out," she said confidently.

"O-okay." I replied, a little uncertain about what her friends would be like or what they would think of me.

Mikan-chan stood up and held out her hand to me. "Come on! We've got no time to waste," she said eagerly.

I took her hand and followed her. I looked around me, amazed at the immense size of the Academy. Mikan-chan really wasn't kidding when she had said it was enormous!

"So, let's go to my room first. It's pretty early so no one will be awake . . . I think," she said. "You might fit in some of my clothes . . . but I don't think so. I'll see if I can get Misaki-senpai to let you borrow some of hers – she's in middle school, but you're pretty small, so you'll probably fit in her clothes," Mikan-chan continued. I just nodded, even though I had no idea who Misaki-senpai was.

We had finally reached Mikan-chan's room – after winding through the corridors of the dorm building. Heck, even the dorms were huge! I wondered absently how many people were in this school – I knew the number would be grand as well.

"Okay, so lets see . . . I'm going to change into my uniform really quick, and then I'll see if I can find something big on me that might fit you . . . if not, then we'll have to wait until I see Misaki-senpai." Mikan-chan said. I could tell she was confident here and also in her friends' and senpai's support.

Mikan-chan changed into her uniform – I commented for the second time that it was extremely cute on her – and gave me a black skirt and a plain pink T-shirt. "This is all I could find – it's gonna be a little small on you, but it'll do until we see Misaki-senpai," she said with a smile.

I put on the clothes, which turned out to be okay for the moment. They were tight but not so that they were extremely uncomfortable.

"Okay. So it should be around time for breakfast now – I hear people coming out of their rooms. Let's go now while the crowd is big – I don't think you'll stand out too much," Mikan-chan said as she handed me the hair brush. I nodded and quickly ran the brush through my hair a few times, and we left Mikan-chan's room.

Thankfully, Mikan-chan had been right, and I didn't stand out. For the first time I was glad I was shorter than the average high school girl.

We made it all the way to the cafeteria. Not surprisingly, it was huge like everything else. I was surprised Mikan-chan was able to find her friends in the crowd.

"Hotaru! Nonoko! Anna!" she called, waving and grinning.

"Mikan-chan!!" two girls squealed. One had long black hair and the other had curly pink hair. "Where have you been?!" they squeaked, running up to Mikan-chan and hugging her. "Everyone was looking for you all of yesterday!"

Mikan-chan grinned. "Sorry, guys. I'll . . . explain later," she said, looking away.

Suddenly a loud exploding sound came and something whacked Mikan-chan in the head. I yelped with shock and turned to see where it came from. A raven-haired girl with cold violet eyes was holding a "gun" of sorts, and was glaring coldly at the body of Mikan-chan.

"Baka! Where were you? Everyone was worried and spent the rest of the day looking for you," the raven-haired girl scolded. Mikan-chan got up uneasily. "S-sorry Hotaru . . ." she muttered, rubbing her head.

Hotaru turned to me. "Who's this? I don't recognize her."

Mikan-chan smiled and replied, "This is Tohru-san! I'll explain how I met her later, but she might be here for a day or so – it depends. Anyway, Tohru, this is Hotaru!" she added brightly, motioning towards the raven-haired girl. "And this is Nonoko-chan, and Anna-chan," she continued, motioning first to the black-haired girl and then the pink-haired girl. They bowed and smiled at me shyly.

"Nice to meet you all!" I replied, bowing in return and smiling back.

Mikan-chan grinned brightly. She obviously was happy to show me her friends.

Just as we found a table to sit at, a blonde haired boy walked up to Mikan-chan. "Sakura!" he exclaimed. "So you're back! Is Natsume back with you?" he asked.

Mikan-chan stopped mid-bite, looking frozen. "Oh boy . . ." she muttered.

"What?" the blonde haired boy asked, confused.

Mikan-chan ignored him and turned to me. "Natsume's still back at your place!" she whispered urgently, looking pale.

I realized what she was trying to say. Natsume, Kyo, and Yuki -- all in the same building together, alone. It would be a nonstop fight all day! And since Shigure had been at Akito-san's place for the night, he wasn't there to make peace . . . and Yuki would probably like to see Kyo be burned a little. Oh no! This was a disaster!

I gasped and bit my lip. "What do we do?" I whispered back, trying to make my voice too low for Mikan-chan's friends to hear.

"I don't know – I'm still not sure how the Sakura Portal thing works yet," she replied quietly. "And there's a chance that this is all coincidence that we happen to teleport just as we're under a Sakura tree or nearby one. Well, I'll tell Hotaru what happened after breakfast. She's really smart, so she might be able to figure something out." Mikan-chan continued.

I nodded and sighed. "I hope so."

**A/N **Hehe sorry about it ending so suddenly, but I decided that was the best place to end it. :P I hope you enjoyed it! I'll try to update soon again. The next chapter's going to be so excitttinnnggg!!! I can't wait! :D Anyway, please review and fave if you liked. :] Thanks!

**Next Chapter Preview!**

"_You've got the count of three to get your freaking hand off me before I burn you to a crisp."_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N **Hey everyone! So, school has started for me. D: -cries- You can guess what that means – I might not be updating as often as I and you all would like. D: But for the most part I'll update at least once every week, hopefully more often than that even. I can't say for sure, though. Anyway, here's Chapter three of Sakura Portal! I hope you enjoy! :]

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I do not own either Fruits basket or Gakuen Alice.

Kyo's POV

I got up, feeling restless after the bad dream I had. For some reason, it had been recurring lately . . . and it haunted me constantly. I tried to push it out of my mind, but it just wouldn't go away. It was very complicated and confusing – I didn't even know why it scared me . . . but somehow it did. Maybe there's something about that huge, blazing orange fire, or Akito's cruel laugh sounding as a pale white mask fell to the ground. Or it could be the fact that the last thing I saw in the dream was always Tohru lying on a bed, her sweet face pale and lifeless . . .

I was so absorbed in these thoughts that I didn't realize until I was staring at it that my feet had brought me to Tohru's room.

I realized her door was creaked open just enough so I accidentally caught a glimpse of the inside. And guess who I saw in there?

That brat, Natsume!

A growl rose in my throat, and I sneaked in the room, careful not to wake the girls but loud enough for Natsume to hear.

The brat swiveled around to look at me, his fiery crimson eyes burning.

"Baka – what the heck are you doing here?! You creep!" I growled in a whisper.

"They're not here," he replied coldly, so loud I jumped.

"What?! Shut up, or else you'll wake them with your loud voice!"

"Idiot. Didn't you hear what I said? _They're. Not. Here,_" he replied slowly, saying each word slowly and deliberately as if talking with a very young child.

I blinked, realizing suddenly what he meant.

"They're gone?!" I exclaimed, letting my voice rise.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Natsume growled.

I ignored Natsume's comment for once and smacked my face with my hand.

"How . . . Wait a second! There's a Sakura tree just outside of Tohru's room!" I exclaimed, realizing what really happened.

"You just realized this now?" Natsume muttered, rolling his eyes.

I just glared at him and held back the rest of my anger with all my might. I would deal with this punk later. For now, I have to focus on the problem at hand.

"I'm going to go wake up Yuki. He won't like it, but who cares? The idiot needs to suffer more often anyway," I said, my eyes glinting. Then, without another word, I ran out of the room.

~.*.~

"So, lemme get this straight – Tohru and Mikan are _gone?_" Yuki asked slowly.

"_Yes. _Would you wake up already so you can understand what we're saying?!" I snapped.

Yuki rubbed his face with his hand. "It's too early for this . . ." he muttered.

I was about to smack him on the side of his head when he got up from his seat.

"Okay. We really can't do anything about it, though. We have no idea how this 'Sakura portal' works or even what we're dealing with. You two just need to be patient and hope they find a way to get back home. When Shigure gets back, we'll ask him what he thinks we should do. I doubt it, but there's a small chance he might have a solution," Yuki said quietly.

I just grunted and sighed. "So, I guess that's it then. I'm going to have to deal with both of you in the same day," I muttered.

I let this fact sink in for a moment, then I added lowly, "Someone please shoot me."

~.*.~

"AUGH! You are really getting on my nerves!" I vented as I spiked the now empty milk carton on the ground.

"You just go and make yourself right at home! And you drink all my milk!" I continued, glaring at Natsume.

Natsume just ignored me and didn't respond.

"ARRGH! I'M GONNA—!" I began, but he cut me off before I could finish the threat.

"Haven't you had enough burns for today? Or would you like more?" Natsume growled, igniting a flame in his left hand.

I glared at him, but subconsciously grabbed my left arm where he had burned it earlier.

So, as you can probably tell, there have been many, many fights between us in just a few hours. It wasn't even noon yet and he had burned my hair, what, three times? And my arm once. And kicked me into a wall each time after he burned me.

The thing that bothered me most, though, was the fact that this kid was only in elementary school! He was eleven for Pete's sake! Why couldn't I beat him?! Maybe it was the fact that he had fire as an advantage . . . wait! That's it! Fire was how he won each time! If I could just have him fight without that fire of his . . . then I could win!

"Hey! Punk over there! I have a deal for you."

I thought I heard him sigh, but he said, "I'm listening."

"How about we duel? You can't use your fire, though. I can't use any weapons, either. It would be a fair fight."

"And what does the winner get?"

"The winner claims the title of being the better fighter. And if I win, you can't burn me anymore. If you win, I won't try to attack you anymore," I replied, my eyes gleaming with excitement.

Natsume paused, and I could tell he was thinking about it.

"Fine. But I have one more condition to add – don't bother me about how I act if I win. Like me drinking the milk. If you win, I won't touch your precious milk anymore," he said, meeting my gaze evenly.

"Fine. Let's do this, then," I replied eagerly.

Natsume got up from the chair he had been sitting in and headed for the door.

"Hey – where are you going?!" I asked incredulously. "You said --,"

"Shouldn't we do this out side?" he asked me, cocking an eyebrow.

I realized he was right, but I didn't say that aloud. Instead I just walked past him out the door without another word. Geez, I couldn't _wait _to kick this kid's butt.

We stood a foot away from each other outside in the roomy back yard. I readied myself and tensed as I said, "Bring it." I added a cocky grin to the comment.

Natsume made the first move. He went in for a blow, and I dodged it, but it turned out to be a juke. So just as I had dodged his false blow, he punched me with his other hand straight in my face.

I reeled back and felt blood run out of my nose. I cursed and wiped the blood off my face. I went forward to trip him. He stepped back to stop me from doing so, but one of his heels caught on my outstretched foot and he fell to the ground.

Before I had the chance to take advantage of his position, he had gotten back up.

I moved forward and behind him to try and get him in a head lock, but he swiveled around and kicked me in the gut.

I fell to the ground with a "thud." I cursed vehemently.

"Had enough?" Natsume asked coldly.

I growled and got back up, getting into my fighting stance again.

He swung out a foot and hooked it around my legs, knocking me to the ground _again. _But before he could do anything more, I grabbed his legs and heaved them out from under him.

He fell to the ground beside me. I used this time to get back up and catch my breath. _I have to admit – this kid can _fight! I thought, a little impressed.

Natsume stood up and tried to catch his breath like me. He stood strong and didn't shake, but I could tell he was beginning to have a bit of a hard time. He began to cough violently. I wondered if I should've taken it a little easier on him . . .

"Kyoooooo-kun!"

Oh. Oh no. Oh no no no. That better not be –

I swiveled around to see the person I dreaded most of all standing at the back door.

Kagura was waving vigorously at me, grinning foolishly and calling my name over and over.

Could this day get any worse?

~.*.~

Natsume's POV

"You've got the count of three to get your freaking hand off me before I burn you to a crisp." I threatened.

Kagura, as the idiot girl was called, didn't take her hand off of me. "Whaaaat? Natsume-chan! You wouldn't do that! How could you even? There's no fire—,"

I ignited a fire in my hand and lit her hair with it. "Now there is."

As expected, the girl ran away screaming bloody murder like they all do.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes.

Today was probably the longest and worst day of my life. Mikan was gone some where, and so was that other idiotic girl – Tohru, right? They both might be idiots, but at least the kept the peace around here! And they might've kept this new girl busy as well.

Why had she come anyway? I had been looking forward to beating Kyo in that duel, so he wouldn't be yelling at me every five seconds and not trying to beat me nonstop. Unfortunately, now we had to postpone our little duel because of Kagura.

Also, she's been a pain and made my life living hell ever since she got here. Never keeping her hands to herself, chatting nonstop, beating up Kyo[not that I minded that part; just that it made lots of noise], and not to mention just being extremely idiotic and annoying period. Seriously, I'd had enough stupidity and noise for a lifetime, thank you very much.

I decided to get up and go look at the cursed Sakura tree. Maybe if I just sat under it for a while I'd eventually teleport back to Gakuen Alice. It was probably a foolish hope, but it was ten times better than staying in this hellhole of a house.

As I headed for the door, I accidentally tripped and fell. Kagura had happened to run by screaming at that very moment, so I ended up landing on her.

As soon as I could I leaped back off of her. I waited for her to get up and scream at me or something, but instead, something I didn't expect at all happened.

Out of the pile of clothes rose a small boar. It poked its head out just where Kagura should've been.

"You jerk! Watch where --!" it stopped speaking when it suddenly realized something.

"Uh oh . . ." it murmured, looking at a hoof and back at my dumbfounded expression.

Just then, Kyo came into the room. His eyes widened till they rivaled saucers and his jaw dropped.

"KAGURAAA!!!"

**A/N **Oh wow that was so much fun to write. X3 lol. Don't you just love Kyo and Natsume? 3 Hehe. Well, I hope you liked this chapter as much as I did! xD I'll try and update soon, but with school just starting, idk when I'll be able to update. Hopefully soon. Anyway, please review and favorite if you liked! And I'm always open for suggestions for this story as well, so don't be afraid to share them if you have one. :]

**Next Chapter Preview!**

"Wait . . . let me get this straight – you're saying that when I step under here, I'm going to go somewhere else? What have you been smoking, Mikan?"

"So . . . I like, hit him in the wrong place, and he transformed?! Just like that?!"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N **Hey everyone! First things first: when I got on to FF yesterday, I looked at my story traffic, and I saw that there has been a total of **88 Hits** and **38 Visitors **on this story just in January! When I saw that I yelled with excitement, and I think I scared my brother by yelling lol XD thank you so much, everyone!!! Anyway, so sorry for such a late chapter, and I hope you all like it~!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Gakuen Alice or Fruits Basket.

* * *

**Mikan's POV**

"Tono-senpai!" I yelled, running up to meet him.

Tono-senpai smiled at me. "Oh, hey, shorty! What's up?" he asked with a smile, ruffling my hair.

I grinned at him and gave him a hug. When I pulled back to look at him, I said, "Can I show you something?"

"Sure," he replied.

I grinned and tugged at his shirt. "Then come on!"

Tono-senpai chuckled and let me lead him.

I took him to the Sakura tree, which my friends were gathered around. It was the exact Sakura tree that had teleported Natsume and me, and also the one where Tohru and me woke up next to.

"Oh! Shorty, there you are. We were beginning to think you forgot about us!"

I looked to see who had spoken – it was Tsubasa-senpai, and he had a playful grin on his face. He walked up to me and ruffled my hair. I just giggled and grinned at him.

"So, you prepared to explain why you dragged us all here?" a familiar voice called rudely. I instantly recognized it to be Permy's voice. I just rolled my eyes at her.

_Alright, here it goes . . . _I thought, swallowing and taking a deep breath before I began to speak.

"So, this is going to sound a little weird, but one day, me and Natsume were sitting under this tree here, and--,"

"You and Natsume sat under the tree together?!" Permy screeched furiously.

I sighed. "Yes, but it wasn't anything. He sat on one side, and I sat on the other side," I explained impatiently. "Anyway, we were sitting under the tree, when suddenly . . ."

I continued to tell the story, from the part where we woke up on the Sohma's table all the way to the end of the day. I was about to begin telling the part where Tohru and me woke up under the Sakura tree when Permy interrupted _again. _

"Wait a second – how do you expect us to believe all this?" she asked me with a contemptuous snort.

I met her gaze evenly and calmly, even though I really just wanted to rip her head right off.

"I think that because I have proof," I replied simply, and motioned for Tohru to come forward out of the crowd.

"See? This is Tohru Honda. I was about to explain before Permy interrupted that, in the middle of the night, we were teleported back to Gakuen Alice. There was a Sakura Tree just outside of Tohru's room as well, so you guys can guess what my theory for all of this is . . ." I trailed off, looking around at the gathered crowd, trying to see if any of them thought I was right.

After a moment of silence, I added, "So what do you all think?"

There was a moment longer of silence, until finally Tono-senpai spoke, breaking it.

"So, lemme get this straight. If I step under here, I'll be teleported to someplace else?" he paused for a moment, then laughed. "What have you been smoking, Mikan?"

I stared at him in shock. "Whaaaat? You don't believe me?!" I exclaimed. "B-but – but this is Gakuen Alice! _Anything _could happen here, right? And what about that one time, with the worm—," I was cut off by a very quick but meaningful glance from Tono-senpai.

"Listen . . . I'm not sure how you exactly ended up at the bottom of the Sakura tree, but it might've just been all a dream. Who knows, maybe you fell asleep under there and didn't wake up till morning," he told me, shaking my head as though he was amused by my thinking the portal was real.

Murmurs rose in the crowd – they all sounded like they agreed with him. I glared at Tono-senpai, but I didn't argue – there was obviously some reason he doing this. I could tell that he was purposely lying about his opinions, probably to keep it from everyone else. My question was _why_ he was trying to keep it from everyone else.

I heard Permy snort. "Well, see, there you are. You were just dreaming, and –," she began, but was cut off.

"But what about Honda-san? How do you explain that?" Ruka asked, coming to my defense.

Everyone's murmurs stopped, and they all turned to look at Ruka and then at Tohru.

For a split second, Tono-senpai looked like he wanted to kill Ruka. But he quickly regained his composure and sighed. "Look at her – isn't she wearing the school uniform? She's probably a new person in the Academy, and Mikan is just a little confused . . . maybe they met earlier and then because of that she featured in the dream," Tono-senpai reasoned, looking quite calm despite his real thoughts.

Ruka frowned and was about to speak again when Tsubasa-senpai quickly said, "Hey, everyone, I heard that there's going to be a dance sometime soon . . . spring dance or something."

"Eeeeeh?!" everyone said in unison, even me.

"Yeah, I overheard the teachers talking about it. Sounds pretty cool, huh?" Tsubasa-senpai replied. "Anyway, after I had overheard about it, I asked a teacher about it, and he said that it was going to be spring themed – of course – and there's a special outfit designing contest as well . . . he said all students could enter, just as long as their drawings could be made sense of . . ." Tsubasa-senpai continued, grinning, and he continued to go on about what the contest was all about and how to enter and such.

I was listening intently until someone snatched my arm and pulled me away from the crowd. I looked up to see that it was Tono-senpai. He was wearing a serious expression. I could guess what he was going to say.

"Alright, so actually, I do believe you, Shorty . . . it's just that out here in the public, it's not safe to talk about this stuff, especially when there's a crowd of kids listening. They'll spill it to the teachers, who will then act immediately in ways we might not like. They'll investigate too much, and maybe even bother -- what's her face? Tohru? -- her family or whatever they are to her," Tono-senpai explained in a very low voice – so low that no one but me and Tohru, who was right next to me, wringing her hands nervously, could hear.

"Anyway, that's why I had to do that. We just can't let these guys know about it. It's too much of a risk. Sorry about that, though, Shorty," he murmured, smiling at me apologetically.

I nodded and gave him a small smile. "It's all right. I kind of figured after a moment that there was some reason you didn't believe me . . . because this is just like that time with the worm hole and Z," I murmured thoughtfully.

Tono-senpai nodded. Suddenly another question popped into my head. "Tono-senpai? What about going back there? We need to get Tohru back to her home, and we also need to get Natsume back here as well . . ." I trailed off, frowning. I wondered how Natsume was faring over there, with Kyo-san and Yuki-san. I bit my lip at the thought. _I wonder if I even _want _to know what is happening over there . . . _I thought, grimacing.

Tono-senpai had a brooding expression on his face. He was about to reply when I saw Ruka come up to me.

"Sakura . . . what about Natsume? Where did he go? Do you know?" Ruka asked me quietly, his face set in a worried expression.

I looked over at Tono-senpai. He sighed and nodded – a signal to tell me that it was alright to tell Ruka the truth.

"I do. You remember the worm hole we used, back when we were looking for Hotaru's medicine and Z?" I asked. Ruka nodded.

"Well this is kind of like that time . . . except we think that the Sakura tree is the portal, this time," I continued quietly.

Ruka frowned. "But how do we get Natsume back? Is it the same and we have to say some sort of password to teleport somewhere?" he asked.

I blinked. I had never thought of this before – what if there _was _some sort of password we had to say in order to get the thing to work? I looked at Tono-senpai to see his reaction to Ruka's comment.

Tono-senpai looked thoughtful. After a moment he finally said, "Well, you know, we haven't thought of that before. It's definitely worth a try though."

I nodded. I looked over at the babbling crowd – they were all occupied with the spring dance and the costume contest. I saw Tono-senpai give Tsubasa-senpai a meaningful look out of the corner of my eye. I saw Tsubasa-senpai give him the smallest of nods, and then he called to the crowd, "How about we go somewhere and start designing outfits now? Since they haven't announced it yet, it'd be a good time to get a head start. So what do you all say?"

The crowd all shouted, "HAI!"

Tsubasa-senpai grinned and herded them away, probably toward an empty classroom or somewhere in the Junior Divison. Tsubasa-senpai looked over his shoulder for a split second and gave us a quick wink.

I sighed and turned back to Tono-senpai and Ruka, who had decided to stay with us – probably because of Natsume.

"So, do you guys have any ideas on the password?" I asked.

Tono-senpai shook his head.

Ruka looked thoughtful, then suggested, "Uhhhh maybe Sakura . . .?"

"Well, let's stand under the tree." I said. I grabbed Ruka and Tono-senpai's arms and dragged them with me under the tree. Tohru followed.

"Alright . . . here it goes!" I said, and then braced myself.

"Sakura!" I said at the tree.

Nothing happened.

"Okay . . . well, let's try 'blossom'," Tono-senpai suggested.

And so it went like that for another hour. By the end of the hour, my brain was exhausted from trying what seemed like every word in the dictionary.

"Ugh, this is pointless!" Tono-senpai finally said, throwing his hands up in the air with defeat. I nodded numbly with agreement.

I closed my eyes and hugged my knees. We were sitting down, of course, since standing still doing nothing gets tiring after a while.

I heard Ruka suddenly gasp. "Whoa! W-what was that?" he asked, sounding alarmed.

I opened my eyes and looked around, trying to see what Ruka was so worried about. When I saw that there was nothing, I glanced over at Ruka. "What did it look like?" I asked.

"Well, it was just a silhouette, and it looked like it was a human, but it was moving really fast . . . too fast," Ruka replied, looking anxious.

Tono-senpai grunted. "Maybe your mind is playing tricks on you or something. I mean, I'm kind of surprised my mind hasn't been doing that already. Something to keep myself occupied . . . I've never been this bored in such a long time . . ." he muttered.

"Well, maybe we should just call it a day and –," I began, but I was cut off by a sudden blow to my head. I yelped and swiveled around to see who had just hit me. There was a silhouette of a human there, but the person was in shadow. Before I had time to make out the person's features, another blow was delivered to my head and I blacked out, seeing and hearing no more.

~.*.~

**Tohru's POV**

I groaned. "Uhn . . ."

My head was throbbing painfully, and I was in a weird position that wasn't comfortable at all. _What happened just now? _I wondered. I had been staring at my feet, preoccupied with thinking of possible passwords and trying not to fall asleep from boredom when suddenly Mikan-chan had yelped and then I had felt a blow to my head, and then nothing after that.

I slowly opened my eyes. I was staring up at a Sakura tree. This made me wonder if I was still in the same place. My first assumption had been I had teleported back to the Sohma's house, but maybe something or someone accidently hit us, and then we blacked out . . .

I sat up to get a better look around myself and to move my stiff arms. What I saw around me was not Gakuen Alice, but what looked very familiar, indeed . . . oh! I suddenly knew exactly where we were. We were in the Sohma's inner property – and, if I was correct, someone's back yard!

I gasped and looked over to my side. Mikan-chan, her senpai – Tono-senpai, was it? – and Ruka, one of Mikan-chan's friends, were lying there, all looking like they were in pain but still just on the brink of consciousness, just like I had been.

I had to wake them up! If we were in someone's backyard, and they saw us –

"Tohru?!" a very familiar voice called.

I looked up, my eyes wide with surprise. Sure enough, standing at the back door was Momiji-kun, looking pleasantly surprised. "Yaaaay!!!" he exclaimed and ran up to me. He was about to hug me when he saw Mikan-chan and her friends. "Ehh? Who are these people, Tohru-chan?" he asked.

"E-er, well--," I began, but a loud groan from Mikan-chan cut me off.

"Tohru . . .W-what happened . . .?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"U-um . . . well . . ." I began, not knowing what to say, since I had no idea either.

She opened her eyes and looked around. Her eyes stopped roaming when she caught sight of Momiji standing there, staring at her with a confused and surprised expression.

"Ehhhhh?!" Mikan-chan squealed, sitting upright and looking from Momiji to his back yard.

"W-we teleported back?!" she asked incredulously, blinking her eyes rapidly and rubbing them a few times with disbelief.

I nodded, sighing. I was happy to be back, but this was getting a little tiring. I wondered if I could just keep away from Sakura trees somehow, and then that way I wouldn't teleport anywhere anymore. _But, of course, there's one outside my room . . . and they're everywhere around here. It'd be impossible to do that. _I reasoned silently, and sighed again.

I glanced at Momiji, who was staring at me now.

"Tohru – how _did _you get here anyway? The only hole in my fence is way over there, and I just went inside . . ." he paused for a moment, looking me over again. "Hm . . . you have a weird outfit on, too. And there's these people, and—," he cut himself off, shaking his head. "Well, come inside, Tohru! Bring your friends, too, and you can explain in there if you like," he said, extending a hand and grinning.

I smiled at him and nodded. "O-okay. Thank you, Momiji-kun!" I replied, taking his hand and letting him help me stand up.

I turned and tapped the stunned Mikan-chan's shoulder. "Mikan-chaaaan! Come on – I know who lives here. His name is Momiji-kun, and he's a Sohma, too," I said cheerfully, motioning to Momiji.

Mikan-chan looked at Momiji-kun, studied him for a moment, then nodded and smiled brightly at him. "N-nice to meet you, Momiji-san!" she greeted, standing up and bowing.

Momiji grinned. "Nice to meet you, too! What's your name?" he asked.

"Sakura Mikan. You can call me Mikan, though," she added with a grin.

"Mikan-chan!" he repeated, trying out her name and grinning. "Such a cute name!"

Mikan-chan giggled. "Thank you!" she gave him another grin and added, "I'm gonna wake up my friends so they can meet you."

She turned and prodded Tono-senpai and Ruka. "Waaakeee upp!!" she exclaimed, shaking them and prodding them nonstop. Tono-senpai groaned and opened his eyes.

"What?" he muttered, blinking. "Where are we?" he asked when he opened his eyes all the way.

"At one of the Sohma's houses!" Mikan-chan replied excitedly.

When Mikan-chan said this, Ruka opened his eyes as well. He blinked his big blue eyes and looked around him, startled and confused.

"What's this you say?" he asked, looking completely weirded out now.

Mikan-chan sighed. "We teleported! Back to a Sohma house!"

Ruka and Tono-senpai looked at each other then back at Mikan-chan. Then they caught sight of Momiji.

"Well then," Tono-senpai said, clearly dumbfounded. "Did someone guess the password?"

I was about to reply when Momiji asked, "Password? What password?"

I smiled wearily and suggested, "How about we all go inside now, like you said, Momiji, and we'll explain everything inside."

Momiji nodded. "Yeah! Come on everyone – I just got a new flavor of tea, and it's really yummy. You all should try some!"

Mikan-chan nodded and grinned. She and Momiji then ran inside his house, with Momiji talking animatedly and Mikan laughing at something Momiji had just said.

I smiled and followed them inside with Tono-senpai and Ruka close behind me, still confused by everything.

~.*.~

I sighed, placing my cup down on the table. We had just finished telling Momiji everything, and he was now looking at us excitedly.

"Woooow! That's so amazing! Teleportation? A school with people filled with powers?" he exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

Mikan-chan grinned. "I know! I was just like that when I first came to Gakuen Alice . . . but I hadn't known anything about teleporting Sakura trees. And I thought I had seen it all when I joined Gakuen Alice!" she added, laughing. Momiji grinned.

So far, everyone had gotten along well, but for some reason Ruka didn't seem to like Momiji too well. He hadn't said much except for when someone had asked him a direct question. I wondered why. Mikan-chan and Momiji clicked instantly, though. They were constantly talking and laughing together. It was pretty cute to watch. Tono-senpai got along with Momiji as well. He was actually a very funny person — all I had seen was his serious side, since we had been dealing with serious matters. But most of the jokes he made were very . . . oh, what do you call it, _crude, _shall I say?

I was jolted out of my train of thought by a hysteric bout of laughter. Apparently, Tono-senpai had just told an award winning joke, and had gotten Momiji and Mikan-chan laughing so hard they were crying. Tono-senpai wore a gloating expression and was grinning at his brilliance. Ruka was hiding his laughter very well by shaking his head and planting his hand on his face as though he was exasperated, but I could tell that he was laughing.

"What? What was it?" I asked eagerly.

Mikan-chan gasped for breath, pounding her fist on the table as she let out another bout of laughter. She attempted to say something, but then just went into another bout of laughter. I just grinned and shook my head. I knew I'd probably have to ask later in order to get a straightforward answer.

I stood up and began taking everyone's empty tea cups.

"Weren't you listening, Tohru?" Tono-senpai asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Ahhh . . . I kind of spaced out . . ." I began awkwardly, rubbing the back of my head with my free hand.

Tono-senpai gasped in mock offense. "What?! You weren't listening?! I can't believe this! I am offended beyond measure!" he exclaimed dramatically, putting on a hurt face.

I sweat-dropped and was about to apologize when Tono-senpai sighed again dramatically.

"Ooooh well, I guess I'll just have to repeat myself . . ." he rolled his eyes, sighing again.

"No! Please, Tono-senpai! My stomach hurts!" Mikan-chan gasped, still trying to stop laughing. Momiji was gasping for breath and massaging his cheeks.

I grinned. "Maybe if you told it when I got back from putting away these dishes, you'll have recovered," I said.

Tono-senpai sighed loudly again, but couldn't keep a straight face this time. "Fine, fine. Geez. What weaklings," he scoffed.

I giggled and picked up the last cup on the table. I began walking towards the kitchen. Suddenly a cup slipped out of my hands and I gasped, reaching out to try and save it. In my attempt to save it, I tripped and fell over, right on top of Momiji.

I yelped and leaped back. _Nonononononono please may it not be too late—_

It was. I was on top of a pile of clothes – Momiji's clothes, to be exact. And sure enough, there was a rabbit, blinking and looking up at me.

"Whoa! Tohru, you all right?" he asked, not realizing what had happened yet.

I just stared at him, not daring to look up at Mikan-chan, Tono-senpai, and Ruka's expressions.

Momiji blinked, slowly realizing what had just happened.

"Uh oh . . ." he murmured, looking at his paws and the clothes pile below him. He slowly looked up to see our friends' reactions. I followed his gaze, looking at Mikan-chan, Ruka, and Tono-senpai.

Mikan-chan was shocked stiff. Tono-senpai looked a little freaked out. Ruka had an expression identical to Tono-senpai's – freaked out.

Mikan-chan blinked slowly, and then asked in a quiet voice that surprised me. ". . .Did you just now hit him . . . in the wrong place? And he turned into a rabbit?" she asked slowly, staring at him.

I raised my eyebrows, surprised. That had been the exact same thing that I had said when I had first discovered the Sohma secret.

"Um . . . sort of like that . . ." I began.

Mikan-chan finally let the full shock sink through. "Ehh?!?!?! D-does he need help?! Should we take him to the hospital?!" Mikan-chan screamed, looking at me with huge eyes.

Momiji suddenly began laughing. "I thought you wouldn't be surprised, Mikan-chan! What, with you living in a school with people with powers?" he laughed. I was surprised – his voice was so relaxed.

Mikan-chan blinked, clearly not having thought of this. "Oh. Good point," she murmured.

Momiji just laughed again. He looked over at Tono-senpai, who was still eyeing him weirdly. Ruka, however, looked like he was trying to control himself. Like he was exerting lot of effort. Sweat drops rolled down his cheeks as he stared at Momiji.

Mikan-chan looked over at Ruka and suddenly comprehension appeared in her eyes. She giggled and glanced from Ruka to Momiji. "Oh boy . . ." she giggled again. She picked up Momiji and placed him in front of Ruka.

"Aaaah!" Ruka exclaimed, pushing himself backwards a foot or so. "Don't do that!" he shouted. "You know what'll happen!"

Mikan-chan nodded. "But I want to show them your Alice! Come on! You know it'll work," she pleaded, grinning.

Ruka shook his head. Mikan gave him the puppy dog face. "Come on! Please? I'll stop your Alice when you want me to or before it gets too bad," she offered.

Ruka met her gaze stubbornly for another moment, then finally sighed and nodded, agreeing reluctantly. "Fine. But just this once."

He met Momiji's rabbit gaze and relaxed. A weird expression came over Ruka's face – one of wonder and bliss.

Then, something extrodinarily weird happened. Momiji's expression mimicked Ruka's – except for Momiji's face being a rabbit – and he leaped into Ruka's arms. Ruka began petting him and smiling weirdly.

Mikan-chan giggled and Tono-senpai got an evil expression on his face. He leaned back in his chair and had a concentrating look for a moment, then the evil expression got eviler.

Ruka stood up and began hugging Momiji with a blissful laugh. He began twirling around in a circle. Tono-senpai cracked up and Mikan-chan went into a bout of barely suppressed giggles.

Now it was my turn to be weirded out.

**A/N **Hehe :D I was laughing the whole time I was writing the end of this chapter lol x3 I felt this chapter was kind of boring[at least to me], so I decided to add a little spice to it in the end. Lol xD Well I hope you all liked this chapter :D Thank you all for reading and please review and/or fave if you liked! :D

**Next Chapter Preview!**

"_Ack! I'll do whatever you want – sign my name in blood, run around in circles all day, be your servant, whatever! Just don't tell anyone!"_

"_You're my hostage, now, Baka-head. Nothing you can do about it, either."_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N **hey everyone! UGH yes I know I am lame for not updating! I am sosososososo sorry for not updating at all last week . . . . it was a combination of business, forgetfulness and perfectionism. Also, I wasn't sure what to put on this chapter at first. :P anyway, I'll stop blabbing now. Please enjoy the chapter~!  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gakuen Alice or Fruits Basket.

**Natsume's POV**  
I sighed and put my hand on my face. _If only I could convince myself that this was a dream . . . _I thought. But I knew all too well that it was not.

Shigure, who had come back, had explained the Sohma situation to me. I wasn't too surprised about the myth being fact, since I do live in a school that has a bunch of people with super powers in it. But I was fed up with the Sohmas in general. I just wanted to go back and forget all of this. And when _I _want to go back to Gakuen Alice, you know that, wherever I am, it's _bad._

"Sorry to bring you into all of this, Natsume-san," Shigure said, abruptly breaking my train of thought.  
I looked up at him briefly and shrugged. "Hn," was my one-syllable reply.

Kagura was looking down at her hands. She had transformed back to a human not too long ago. Kyo was sitting next to her, still looking very angry. He had yelled at her for about thirty minutes straight, going on and on about how she was too reckless and stupid. Ugh. Thankfully, before Kyo could continue, Shigure had come in.

"So, I guess I'll have to go visit Akito again sometime soon . . . he needs to know that yet another person knows about the secret," Shigure said, mostly to himself. He rubbed his face with his hand wearily.

_Akito? _I wondered, but I didn't bother to ask – I most certainly wasn't in the mood for a conversation.  
Suddenly a loud bang of a slamming door was heard. We all turned around to see the back of a girl that had short black hair. She was dragging a boy that looked about thirteen, give or take a few years. He was screaming something about don't tell anyone and to let him go.

"Ack! I'll do whatever you want – sign my name in blood, run around in circles all day, be your servant, whatever! Just don't tell anyone!"

"Is this it?" the girl just asked coldly, ignoring the boy's plea. Her back was still facing us, but I recognized the voice . . . and the hair . . . in fact, I think I knew exactly who this was.

"Ye-yes! This is it! Now won't you listen to me?! Don't tell an--!" the boy began, but he stopped when the girl hit him with something in the middle of his sentence to shut him up. Yep, it had to be. I didn't know how she could've gotten here, but somehow she did, since my suspicions were proved right as she turned around to face us.

"Natsume?" Hotaru Imai asked, vague surprise in her voice and expression.

I had no idea what to say to her. I just stared blankly at her, dumbfounded.

Imai seemed to understand and sighed. "I got here because I've been watching Mikan the whole time she was at Gakuen Alice to see if I could make sense of this. I knew there was an answer, and I think I've found it," she explained, nudging the boy with her foot in a way that was more like a kick.

That was the most I'd ever heard her say, but I certainly wasn't focusing on that fact. I wanted to know how this boy had something to do with the Portal. If he could get me back . . .

"How?" I asked simply.

"I'm not sure, since he wouldn't tell me, but I've got my theories," she replied simply. Imai's cold violet eyes grazed around a room, analyzing everything. "Isn't Mikan here?" she asked as her eyes finally finished their observation of the room.  
"She went back," I replied.

Imai looked at me evenly. "And she returned with that Tono idiot, Ruka, and that other girl from this place. I watched her."

I looked at her expectantly.

"Fine. I'll explain," she said and sat down, making herself at home. "This idiot had knocked them out when I came by to check on their progress. They had been trying to guess the password to the Sakura portal. Or at least, they thought that would work, so they tried to. Anyway, I was angry at the idiot for knocking them out for no apparent reason, so I came out and kicked this guy to stop him. He turned to look at me and then suddenly he began to teleport. I stopped him somehow by shooting him with my Baka-gun, but by then Mikan and the others were gone somehow. The idiot tried to teleport again, and this time it worked, but somehow I ended up coming along with him. So I blackmailed him into bringing me here. Anyway, my conclusion is that he's the one who's been teleporting us places," Imai explained.

The boy growled. "First of all, my name is Kagetora, not idiot. Second of all, I _told _you I'm not the one who's been --," he began, but Imai shot him down again with her baka-gun. I found myself almost wishing that I had one of those guns to use on the constant stream of idiots I've been around lately . . .

After a moment of silence, Shigure spoke up. "If I may ask . . . who exactly are you?"

Imai turned her violet gaze to him. "I'm Imai Hotaru. I know you've met Mikan, since 'the Sohmas' were all she talked about while she was back at Gakuen Alice. I guess you could call me Mikan's friend," Imai almost smirked.

Shigure nodded. "Yes, we did meet her . . . you said that Tohru-kun is over there as there as well?"

"_Was _there," Imai corrected. "But yes, she was there. She's back here again somewhere, if I'm correct."

Yuki spoke now. "Shigure . . . do you know where another Sakura tree might be?" he asked.

Shigure thought for a moment, then said, "You know, there is one inside the inner Sohma property . . . near Momiji's house, I believe."

Yuki and Shigure exchanged a look and then Shigure nodded. "Then inside Sohma property is our best bet. Kyo, I think you should stay here . . ." Shigure trailed off as he thought about what to do with Imai, Kagetora, and myself.

"I don't want to leave you all alone after what just happened . . . I guess we can find a way to get you in there," he said thoughtfully.

"Wait. This guy – he has teleportation," Imai said.

"How do you know that?!" Kagetora exclaimed.

"Logic and a brain, idiot," Imai replied with a trace of a triumphant smirk on her face. Kagetora grunted and looked extremely irritated with himself.

"Let's go, then," I muttered. Imai grabbed Kagetora's arm and dragged him over to us. He frowned. "I never said I'd—," he began to protest, but Imai silenced him with a look.

"Fine. Grab my arm or something and you'll teleport with me," he instructed, reluctantly. It almost made me wonder exactly what Imai had said to him to get him to obey her so easily . . .

We all touched his arm[except for Kyo, who looked disgruntled and agitated – probably because he was left with Kagura], and Kagetora teleported us there.

~.*.~

**Mikan's POV**  
"Oh, Ruka, I'm so sorry . . .! I just couldn't help myself . . ." I exclaimed through my laughter.  
Ruka was fuming with anger, sitting on the ground and hugging his knees. He looked humiliated and frustrated beyond measure. Momiji had transformed back and was indeed looking awkward as well, but he still was good natured about it. "So . . . animal boy, eh? But then, what does that make me?" he asked with a laugh.

I grinned and gave Ruka another apologetic glance. I had already said sorry, like, five billion times, but I knew even despite that Ruka wouldn't forget this easily.

I suddenly heard a ban and voices.

"This way!"

"It had better be . . ."

I frowned. I recognized that second voice . . . so familiar, but it couldn't be . . .

A girl burst through the door and into Momiji's living room. The girl had raven black hair and cold violet eyes . . . what?! It's –

"Hotaru?!" I squealed.

There she was, standing in the doorway. I barely noticed Natsume, Shigure, Yuki, and another, unfamiliar boy standing next to her – I just couldn't believe it!

I ran over to her and was about to hug her when she shot me with her baka-gun.

"Imai? How did you get here . . .?!" Tono-senpai asked incredulously.

"Long story made short – this guy," she replied, motioning toward the unfamiliar boy.

"But how--?!" I began, but Hotaru silenced me with a glance.

"Fine. I'll explain. But I don't expect you dummies to understand any of it . . ." she muttered, but she sat down and gave us a quick over view of what had happened after we passed out and what her theory was.

I nodded, trying to take it all in. It was all so confusing . . . how could we ever truly figure it out?

"Does this mean we can go back, though? I mean, if this guy can teleport us back . . ." Tono-senpai began.

Hotaru nodded. "I don't know if my theory is entirely true, since this idiot won't tell me if it is," she began with a freezing glare at the boy. ". . . but it's definitely worth a shot."

"But –," the boy began to protest. Hotaru again silenced him with a look.

I smiled, hardly noticing the exchange between Hotaru and the boy. I was too busy thinking of the fact that I'm going home! _Finally! I'm going to miss Tohru and everyone, but I really missed all my friends back at Gakuen Alice . . . it'll be nice to go back._

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Tono-senpai asked, standing up.

Ruka was already at Natsume's side, talking with him in a low voice. Natsume looked really, really agitated. He sent me the death glare, and I knew that Ruka had told him exactly what happened. _Oh CRAP! I am going to _get it _when we get back . . . _I thought worriedly.  
I pushed the thought aside for now and said, "Okay, let's go. But I think we should take Tohru back to her house . . ." I smiled at Tohru, and she smiled back at me.

Tono nodded. "Won't hurt anything," he said. "Are we going to teleport back?"

Kagetora growled. "I'm not teleporting you guys back! No way! I already—!"

Hotaru shot him with her baka-gun. "Idiot! You'd better do it. Or I'll tell them," she threatened. I had no idea what she was talking about, since she had told us everything – right? – but it seemed to work.

Kagetora nodded reluctantly and held his hand out. Hotaru and everyone who had come with her touched either his hand or his arm.

"Touch my arm and you'll teleport with me," he mumbled, seeing the rest of our confused expressions.

We nodded and touched his arm. I noticed Momiji was touching it too. He noticed me looking at him and smiled.

"You don't mind if I come with you to say good bye, do you?"

I grinned. "Of course not! Why ask such a question?"

Momiji grinned. The world swirled around us as we teleported back to the Sohma's house.

~.*.~

"You mean that this punk is finally leaving?! I never thought I'd see the day!!" Kyo exclaimed, jumping out of his seat.

Natsume appeared to ignore this comment, but a second later a bright flame appeared on Kyo's already orange hair,

"AHHHH!" Kyo screamed and quickly patted it out. "DARN YOU! THAT HURTS, YOU KNOW!"

I heard Yuki sigh. "Oh, I'm going to miss Kyo finally trying to attack someone else for a change . . ." he muttered.

Hearing this, Kyo swiveled around and glared at Yuki. "Don't think I've forgotten about you, dang rat!!!"

We had obviously returned to the Sohma household and told Kyo what had happened and that we were going back. Also, there was this new girl there that hadn't been there before. Her name was Kagura. She seemed pretty nice, but she was just as loud as Kyo.

Shigure sighed and looked over at me. "You'll have to visit us sometime! Be sure to bring Natsume-san, because I'm sure Kyo would _love _that," Shigure added sarcastically with a wink. I grinned and nodded.

"Hopefully soon!" I replied. "Thank you for letting us stay here!" I added, bowing respectfully.

Shigure smiled and returned the bow. "Of course! It was my pleasure."

I turned to Tohru and gave her a huge hug. She hugged me back and, when we pulled away, she said, "I'll miss you, Mikan-chan! I can't wait for you to come visit us again!"

I gave her a bright smile and was about to reply when Tono-senpai coughed loudly.

"Very touching, but we really should be going soon," he said, trying to hide his eagerness to go home, but failing horribly.

I sweatdropped, but I obeyed. I followed him out the door, Tohru and Momiji following me.

Natsume, Ruka and Hotaru were already outside, waiting with Kagetora.

I smiled and ran out to greet them. "We're ready!"

"Finally." I heard Natsume mutter. I glared at him but otherwise ignored him.

We gathered under the Sakura tree and looked expectantly at Kagetora.

"You guys won't listen to me! I'm not the one who can activate it! I just have the teleportion alice! It was a coincidence!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air.

Hotaru growled. "That's not what you told me back at Gakuen Alice. You said you wouldn't tell me the secret – but you knew it."

Kagetora frowned. "I can't tell you. I promised –," he cut himself off, obviously trying to hide the origins of this tree.

Then something happened. A wind began to blow in a swirling pattern, blowing the blossoms off the tree and around us.

"NO!" Kagetora shouted, and shoved everyone he could get his hands on out from under the tree, me included.

I yelped as I hit the ground. I looked up just in time to see Ruka, Tono-senpai, Tohru, and Kagetora disappearing in a swirl of pink Sakura blossoms.

~.*.~

"This means we're still stuck here, then," Natsume muttered, sighing.

I looked at him, realizing that he sounded and looked very tired. I felt a pang of worry spread through my chest. I always wondered and worried about Natsume . . . he was always overworking himself.

"I guess so. At least, until Kagetora comes back. Or if we, by chance, find a way to get you there ourselves," Shigure replied with a sigh.

"Crap! And I was looking forward to that punk—," Kyo began, but was cut off when Natsume stood up abruptly and grabbed Kyo by the collar.

"Listen, Orangey. I am sick and tired of your crap. You never know when to stop – haven't I burned you enough times? Unless you want more, shut your freaking mouth," he threatened, his eyes burning with fury and his voice dripping with hatred.

Natsume let go of Kyo and stormed out of the room. Kyo's mouth was open wide, and the rest of the Sohmas looked stunned. Even Hotaru looked surprised.

I frowned. Something wasn't right. Natsume can be mean and rude, but he usually doesn't threaten people like this. Thinking these thoughts, I got up and headed after him.

"Natsume!" I called as I entered the front yard. Natsume was sitting under a tree – I noticed that it wasn't the Sakura tree – staring at his feet.

I walked over to his side and sat next to him. I couldn't tell what he was thinking at all – his face was void of any emotion.

"What do you want?" he asked, still looking at his feet.

I blinked. "I . . . well, I don't _want _anything . . . I just . . . I wanted to know if you were alright, I guess," I stammered. I hadn't really thought much when I went after him – I just did. Like the usual.

"Idiot," Natsume muttered. "Go back inside, ugly."

I frowned – he sure knew how to get to me! "What did you just say, you fox?!" I replied angrily.

Natsume looked up at me, his eyes a cold fire. "You heard me. Go back, ugly girl!"

"Say that again and I'll--!"

"U-g-l-y. Ugly."

"Why you—! You're no better, Mr. Slanted Eyes!"

"Ugly air-head!"

"Stupid!"

"Super ugly!"

"Argh! Short eye-brows!" I found myself laughing as I said this, though. Inside, I was really glad to hear him back to his normal self, calling me names.

"Idiot. What are you laughing at now?" he growled.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Not telling."

"I think a pattern is developing here . . ." he muttered.

I realized he was right – we'd had this conversation plenty of times before. I grinned and nodded. "Yeah."

I let out a small, content sigh and looked up at the clear blue sky. It was nice just sitting here with Natsume like we did occasionally back at Gakuen Alice. It reminded me of home, and somehow, despite his nasty remarks, he always calmed me down.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. "Today's Sunday, isn't it? What's going to happen if we can't get back home tomorrow in time for school . . .?" I trailed off, frowning worriedly. I hadn't thought of this before . . . and also, if Tohru was gone as well . . . she was still in high school.

"Idiot. It's not like this would be the first time we've been missing from school. Anyway, an idiot like you shouldn't worry about things like this," Natsume muttered suddenly.

I blinked and smiled, feeling reassured. Before I could reply, however, Shigure poked his head out the door.

"Hey, you two . . . I need to have a word with you," he said cheerfully, but he avoided meeting our gaze and he looked a little awkward.

I nodded, a little uneasy, but I stood up anyway and made sure not to let it show too much. "Coming!" I replied, trying to sound cheerful and carefree.

I headed inside with Natsume following me. I looked inside to see a new table in the dining room. Yuki was taking off his sweatshirt – he must have gone out and bought a new one. _That was fast. _I thought.

Shigure smiled at us brightly from his seat and motioned for us to sit down. "Come, come. We have quite a bit to discuss."

I thought I heard Natsume groan a little, but he sat down, and I took a place next to him. It happened to be right next to Hotaru as well. I grinned at her, and she just glanced over at me and then looked back expectantly at Shigure. I figured she must know exactly what Shigure had to say.

Shigure smiled and folded his hands in front of him before began. "Now, this might be a little strange to you at first, so I need you two to keep open minds. This won't be permanent, but just until we find a solution to our current problem," Shigure began. He paused painstakingly for a moment, then said, "We'd like you two to enroll in Tohru's school."

It took a moment for it to sink in. When it did, I gasped. "Eeeeeeeh?! But how?! We're only in elementary, and she's in high school, and, and, and—!"

"Calm down, Mikan-chan. We've got it all figured out. Your friend here has promised to join you – she says she knows high school level problems. Also, most of the Sohmas who are young enough to be in school are there as well – we are going to invite them over and tell them our situation. The reason for all of this is because of Tohru's friends at school and her school record. We can't tell her friends the reason for her disappearance, so we . . . need you to pretend to be her. Just for a little while," he added hastily as he saw my stunned and slightly horrified expression.

How was I going to do this?! I don't know her friends, and I hardly know how she acts around her friends! I've only known her for a day and a half! _And _this will be at a regular high school, with high school students and high school work and high school bullies and high school _everything! _

My mind raced through these thoughts at a million miles per second. Before I knew it, the only coherent thought in my mind was _AAAAHHHH!!!!!!!_

A sharp blow to the head jolted me out of my little mental breakdown. I yelped and clutched my head, but I had snapped out of it. I didn't have to look, though, to see that Natsume was the one who had hit me.

"You okay now?" Shigure asked after a pause. I nodded, still rubbing my head.

"Alright . . . there is a little more to tell you. Actually, this is for Natsume-san," he said, turning to Natsume. "We'd like you to enroll as well. Not to replace anyone, but to help Mikan-chan," he continued.

Natsume had his poker face on. He shrugged. "Whatever," he muttered. Shigure took this as a yes and smiled.

"Well then! All that aside, I have one more thing – Imai-san here has learned of the Sohma library and has a very good idea. She says that, if we look hard enough, we might be able to find some things about the Sohma past and it might just have something about the Sakura Portal and who the original creator might be. We are going to head to the Sohma library for a while and pick up some books. I am going to leave you guys here, though. I trust that you will not destroy anything while we are gone," Shigure added with a look at Kyo, Natsume, Yuki, and me.

I nodded. "Yes, sir!"

Shigure smiled, looking like he liked the title of "sir." He stood up and bowed. "Alrighty! We shall be off now. We won't be long, so don't get into any trouble," he reminded us. He headed out the door with Hotaru following him silently.

When the door closed, there was a moment of uncomfortable silence. I felt like the tension was unusually high between Kyo and Natsume. I could guess why, though – they had obviously had some conflict between the two of them while I had been gone.

Just then Momiji came in the room. "Oh? What's this tension I feel?" he asked, looking at us with wide eyes.

I looked up and grinned at him. "Momiji-kun!" I exclaimed. "Where have you been?!"

He beamed at me and replied, "I've been upstairs, taking a small nap. And Shi-san has already told me about you going to Tohru's school," he added, seeing my excited and apprehensive expression. "Did you accept?" he asked eagerly.

I nodded. "What's it like? Is it scary? Is it hard work?" I asked eagerly, bubbling over the brim with questions.

Momiji laughed. "Whoa, slow it down there! Lemme sit down and I'll tell you a bit about it."

He told me all about high school, and who was nice and who wasn't. He also told me a bit about Tohru's friends. "They're pretty nice people, her two closest friends. They're a little unusual, if you ask me, but they're good friends to Tohru and extremely protective," he said with a small laugh.

I nodded eagerly, and was about to ask more questions, when I caught a glance of a baleful glare Natsume sent in Kyo's direction. Apparently they were having a staring – no, glaring contest. So the atmosphere _hadn't _gotten better, even with cheerful Momiji in the room.

Momiji and I exchanged a quick, nervous glance. Finally, to break the ice, Momiji said, "Hey, I know the rest of you must be bored by me talking, so why don't we, um, play a game! Yeah, let's play a game!"

Neither Natsume or Kyo looked slightly moved or interested by this suggestion, so I quickly agreed, followed by Yuki chiming in as well. "Yes, a game would be a good idea," he said quietly, nodding. I could tell he really didn't want another fight between the two. _It must have been pretty bad here while I was gone . . . _I thought, biting my lip.

I stood up with Momiji and Yuki and poked Natsume. "Come on! We'll play dodgeball or something," I said. I remembered that time when I suggested dodgeball, and Natsume had played in it. That had been such a long time ago, but I remembered it well. It was the first time I had done something other than fight with Natsume back then.

"Sure! Dodgeball sounds like a great idea," Momiji said.

"I'll see if I can find a ball around here," Yuki said, and left the room to go search. Momiji followed him.

"Coooooomeee onnnnn!!" I pleaded, pulling on Natsume's arm. "Don't be boring."

Natsume finally turned his gaze, but only to glare at me instead. "Stop that, idiot, before I burn you to a crisp."

"Remember? I can nullify it, you fox," I replied indignantly, still tugging at his arm stubbornly.

Natsume growled. Suddenly I had an idea. I let go of his arm and said, "Ooh, well I guess we'll play without you two . . . since you two are too afraid of losing to each other."

This worked perfectly. Both of their gazes snapped over to look at me. I decided to continue.

"You two just have such a big ego that you don't want to hurt it . . . so I'll just let you two stay here with your inflated but unharmed egos," I said loftily, waving my hand nonchalantly. I let out a big, dramatic sigh, and was about to march out the room when Kyo stood up. My back was facing them, so I allowed myself a grin as Kyo spoke.

"I can beat you _and _that dumb old rat! This is my chance!" he exclaimed. "So, arreee you too scared to face me?" he asked Natsume, his tone of voice cocky and inviting.

Natsume said nothing, but stood up. "You're on, orangey," he muttered, and walked outside.

I was grinning ear to ear – I can't believe that it had worked! It just went to show how badly they wanted to beat eachother, though.

I turned around and saw Kyo flexing his muscles. He saw me watching him and quickly dropped his arms and walked hurriedly outside after Natsume. I giggled and turned to go and find Yuki and Momiji.

**A/N **Hehe :D Sorry for ending it so abruptly – I was just too impatient to write any more. I had to get this thing published. X3 Well, I hoped you liked this chapter anyway. :B I definitely had fun writing it. :B Anyway, I will try try try try to get the next chapter in very soon! I know what I'm going to do for the next chapter, so hopefully I'll have an easier time writing it. Well, I'll stop blabbing now. See you all soon!(hopefully)

**Preview for next Chapter!**

"_Wonderful. Just wonderful pairings. Were you set on this earth to torture me or what?"_

"_Wait . . . you _like _her??"_

"_Like you can't guess – didn't you see me just now?" _


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Yes. I am lame for updating late again. So very lame. Please enjoy this chapter anyway. X3

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Gakuen Alice, Natsume and Mikan would've confessed their undying love for each other, and if I owned Fruits Basket the series, it'd still be going. But I don't. D: -cries-

* * *

**Kyo's POV**

I flinched as an icy drop of rain fell on my head.

Crap. I thought, looking up at the sky. It was overcast – of course – and starting to rain. Perfect. Just perfect.

I'm not gonna back down, though. This could be my chance to beat Natsume or Yuki – or, even better, both! I thought, trying to be optimistic.

Abruptly I heard a car door slam. I heard voices, and I frowned. Was Shigure back already?

The punk – Natsume – heard it too, and walked inside to see whom it was. I followed him, curious.

"Shiii-san~! Yun-chaaaan~! Tohru-chaaaan!! Where are my darling friends?" a sickeningly familiar voice called.

I froze in the doorway as I saw who the owner of the voice was.

There stood my worst nightmare – Ayame. Behind him were Haru, Hiro, Kisa, and – oh, no, no, NO!

Yes. It was Kagura, grinning stupidly. What did I do in life to deserve this? Seriously?

Standing next to me, Natsume seemed to immediately sense that this was going to be another torture filled day. He looked a little mutinous in a way I didn't know 11 year olds could pull off. I almost felt sorry for the guy. Almost.

Ayame caught sight of me standing in the door and gave me one of his huge, overdone smiles that made a kitten want to barf.

"Oh! Kyonkichi! I did not expect you there! You look pleasantly surprised to see me! Didn't Gure-san tell you of our visit?" he asked in his obnoxious loud voice.

I ignored the comment about "pleasantly surprised" and thought back to the conversation at the table, when Shigure had explained to Mikan that she had to act as Tohru. Shigure had said he was going to invite the Sohma's over to tell them what was going on so they could help back Mikan. I had foolishly thought that they would come later . . .

Ayame, seeing that I wasn't going to reply, turned his gaze to Natsume.

"Oh! Who is this, Kyonkichi? I don't believe I have seen this face before!" he exclaimed, walking confidently toward Natsume.

Natsume gave him a death glare that stopped him in his tracks.

Ayame looked surprised, but he wisely took a step back. Let's just say that, if looks could kill, Ayame would be dead now.

"What is –"

Yuki's voice was cut off as he saw who was in the hallway entrance. Ayame's face lit up as he saw Yuki.

"Yun-yunnnnn!" he exclaimed. "Come forth, and let your older brother embrace you!" he held out his arms. I had to resist the urge to puke.

Yuki looked like he felt that same way. "Don't you dare," Yuki muttered. As he backed away he accidentally bumped into Mikan, who was behind him.

"Oh! Is that Tohru behind you?" Ayame exclaimed excitedly.

Yuki and I exchanged a quick glance. Here we go again . . . I thought, not at all enthusiastic about explaining the situation to these idiots.

Yuki shook his head. "No, this is Sakura-san. Honda-san . . . isn't here right now," he began. "Sit down, and I'll explain the best I can," he finished reluctantly.

So, Yuki briefly told them about the deal and about Mikan replacing Tohru. I myself wasn't too happy about that, since I was suspicious on how well it would even work, but I couldn't do too much about it.

Ayame and co. all had different reactions. Ayame was blabbing on and on about more "great" ideas to add to the plan, but I wasn't listening – I don't think anyone else was either. Kisa looked distraught at Tohru's disappearance; Hiro just snorted and twiddled his thumbs with a bored expression. Haru looked calm and agreed quietly with the plan as far as I could tell.

Kagura, on the other hand, was upset for a split second and the next she was climbing all over me.

"Kyoooo-kun!! I missed you!!!" she squealed, attacking me.

"You just saw me yesterd—! Ack! Get off me, idiot!" I exclaimed. Of course, she ignored me and continued her abuse-fest.

Somehow, through my noisy, attempts to get Kagura off me, I heard Mikan ask Yuki about the dodgeball game.

"Are we still doing it?" she asked, clutching a bright red ball.

Yuki was about to reply when that noisy Ayame exclaimed, "Dodgeball?! Did you say dodgeball? What a wonderful game! A game of bonding and practicing moving away from a target! We have made such a crime in barging in on your game! Let us express our deepest sorrow for it – why don't we repay you by giving you some assistance in the game?"

Yuki looked strained for a moment as he tried to imagine what a game of dodgeball would be like with the erratic group of Sohmas. I could imagine it easily enough – total disaster.

Apparently Yuki didn't come to this conclusion, because he said, "Sure, I guess. Let's go outside and we'll get started."

As we filed out of the house, I prepared myself mentally and physically for what was bound to come.

Mikan bounded about, grinning. I felt a pang in my chest – that grin strangely reminded me of Tohru.

I quickly pushed Tohru out of my thoughts and tried to listen to what Yuki was now saying.

"So, I assume we all know how to play dodgeball, but just in case . . . there are two teams, a leader on each, who picks out the players on their team. You get out either from getting hit by someone or someone catches the ball you throw. It keeps going until everyone is out on one team," Yuki explained, tossing the ball absently from hand to hand.

Kagura stepped forward, squealing, "Ohohoho~! Yun-yun! Can I be a leader!?"

Yuki sighed. I prayed fervently that he would refuse, but no, of course he just couldn't say no!

"I guess," Yuki said. It was times like these when I really wished I could kick his sorry little butt.

And to make things worse, Ayame exclaimed, "Let me do the honor, dear brother! I will make a team so great, no one will believe it! The glory and never ending pr—"

"We get it, aniki. Just hurry up and choose your team," Yuki interrupted, tossing him the ball.

Kagura and Ayame faced the rest of us, contemplating – or doing their version of "thinking" – who to choose for their team.

I knew way before Kagura said anything that she was going to choose me first.

"Kyo-kuuuun! He's my first choice!" she giggled, motioning for me to come and stand by her. I groaned but reluctantly obliged.

Ayame chose Yuki – no surprise there --, Hiro, Kisa, and Haru. Kagura chose Momiji, Mikan, and Natsume.

I looked at my team and assessed the situation. Wow. I'm seriously going to have to think over what I did exactly to get to this low of a point in my life. I know I'm over reacting, but did I mention how much my life sucks?

"Wonderful. Just wonderful pairings. Were you set on this earth to torture me or what?" I muttered to Kagura.

Either she didn't hear me or she just ignored it, because she grinned and squealed, "Okay! Let's start!"

We moved onto two different sides of the field and positioned ourselves. Ayame's team started with the ball, so I kept my senses alert.

Yuki had the ball – he threw it almost as soon as someone had handed it to him. The ball just barely missed Mikan, who dodged it just in time.

Natsume grabbed the ball just before I got there. He pushed me out of the way and launched the ball at the other team. It headed straight for Kisa. Hiro, of course, jumped in front of her, getting hit instead.

One down. I thought, a little triumphant. I am extremely competitive, if you haven't noticed already.

Yuki grabbed the ball, and out from nowhere he pulled another ball.

"Let's really make this fun, shall we?" he said, with a small smile unlike him.

He tossed both balls as hard as he could at us – I felt like they were slightly directed at me – at the same time.

One of the balls hit the ground early and bounced over to me. The other one Natsume narrowly missed catching.

I grabbed the ball that was beneath me and Natsume ran back and grabbed the other one. We stepped out to the front. Gauging the distance and whom I was hitting carefully, I launched the ball at Yuki. He dodged it with ease, but Kisa, who was behind him, got smacked in the face. I winced, hoping furiously she wouldn't cry.

Thankfully she didn't, but she looked dazed and rubbed her face continuously as she stepped to the sidelines.

Natsume's ball just narrowly missed Haru's arm. Haru ran to get it and came back quickly, twirling the ball on one finger.

Yuki and Haru, the holders of both balls now, stepped closer to our side. They took what seemed like forever to throw the ball.

"Would you hurry up already?! I'll be a hundred years old by the time—" I began but was cut off when a ball narrowly missed my head.

"I think you should stop blabbing and start playing, huh?" Haru growled with a snort.

I ignored him and was about to grab the ball when I realized Kagura had beaten me to it.

"I'm gonna throw this one!" she exclaimed.

Oh joy. I thought, rolling my eyes. I let her try it, though.

She looked around for a moment, then threw it hard. I felt my jaw drop as I realized that she had just thrown a perfect throw and would've got Ayame if he hadn't caught it, which got Kagura out.

"Brilliant throw! Precise and well aimed! I bet Kyonkichi couldn't do better himself!" Ayame exclaimed encouragingly.

I felt my eye twitch. "Oh yeah? Wanna bet?" I growled, rolling up my sleeves.

The rain had started to fall heavier, but somehow that was the last thing on my mind. I hated it, but it only encouraged my anger and passion to win this.

I realized that Mikan had the second ball now. Apparently she hadn't thrown it yet.

"What are you doing just standing there?!" I exclaimed. "Throw it already!"

She looked at me, then at the ball. "Oh yeah! I still have it!" she realized. I felt like punching something. Really hard.

Mikan threw it at Yuki, who caught it. Mikan sighed and trotted over to the sides.

I looked at our team. We had three people left – Momiji, Natsume, and myself. The other team also only had three – Ayame, Yuki, and Haru. So it was even. We both had a weak spot – Momiji and Ayame[neither of them could throw a ball to save their lives], and strong points – myself and Natsume[you gotta admit, the kid has skills] and Yuki and Haru.

You can guess what happened next – Ayame threw the sorriest looking throw I'd ever seen, but somehow it managed to hit Momiji.

I took the ball and threw it at Haru just as Yuki aimed a ball at me, so that I had to do a weird dodge – throw maneuver that, in retrospect, was completely awesome. Only downside was that it hit Ayame instead of Haru.

So, it ended up a tough fight – Natsume and me against Yuki and Haru.

The rain was pretty steady now and hadn't stopped once in a while, so we were all soaked to the bone. The people who were out of the game had headed inside to watch a while ago.

I felt pumped though. I wasn't too sure about everyone else, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that I could win this!

Handling the ball absently, Yuki looked like he was ready to stop. "Maybe we should call this a tie and postpone until the weather clears . . ." he began.

"Heck no!" I exclaimed. "You're just afraid of losing!"

Yuki frowned. "I never said that, stupid cat," he retorted.

"Well, then prove to me that you aren't scared!" I challenged.

Yuki didn't reply but launched the ball at me. I dodged it and it bounced to Natsume's feet.

Haru, who had the other ball, threw it at me as well, but I dodged it and just barely missed catching it.

I picked the ball up, handling it carefully so that it wouldn't slip out of my hands.

As I threw it it accidentally slipped through m hands.

Natsume caught it before it fell and tossed it to me.

It almost slipped from my hands again as I tried to catch it.

"Having trouble?" Natsume asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Shut up," I replied angrily, tossing the ball at Yuki this time.

Haru leaped in front to catch it but he missed, brushing Yuki's shoulder.

"That was a hit! You're out!" I exclaimed.

"That didn't hit me. I didn't feel it," Yuki replied.

"Whaaat?! It so did! You just don't want to admit it!"

"Stop bickering!" Haru interrupted. "Let's just say it missed."

Just as I was about to protest a ball flew at me, but accidentally hit Natsume instead.

Without any emotion on his face he walked past me wordlessly.

I tried to look casual as I waited for them to throw the other ball. When it came at me I caught it with one hand. "Ha!" I exclaimed.

I saw Haru's eye twitch as he realized he was out. He walked over to the side.

I launched the ball at Yuki. I clenched my fists as Yuki narrowly missed it.

This went on for another minute or so, until Yuki caught it. Wait – No! He had almost caught it when it slipped out of his hands, which counted as a hit!

"YES! In your FACE!" I yelled, punching the air.

Yuki sighed and threw the ball at my face.

"Hey! Game's over, stupid rat!" I yelled, rubbing my cheek where it had hit me.

"I know, stupid cat," Yuki replied, heading inside.

I rolled my eyes and followed him.

Inside, Kagura tackled me instantly, yelling, "You saved the team! We won! We won!"

I saw Mikan grinning at me along with the rest of my team – except for Natsume, of course. I'd be actually a little frightened if he had been.

I shot a smug look toward the other team – especially Yuki, who pretended not to notice.

"Time to dry off!" Haru said, rubbing his hair furiously with a towel. I didn't know where and how he got the towel, but I didn't care. I was still having a major ego high, which crowded out everything else.

I grinned triumphantly as I took a towel from Momiji, who was handing me one. They must have raided the bathroom or something. Not like I cared.

I sort of wished Tohru were here to see this victory of mine. I knew she'd be happy for me, and she'd give me one of those sweet, kind smiles of hers . . .

Crap. I really missed her. A lot.

~.*.~

**Natsume's POV**

I rubbed my hair roughly with a towel some more, still soaking wet from playing dodgeball out in the rain.

Mikan laughed loudly and exclaimed, "Natsume-kun, your hair looks hilarious! It's sticking up in funn-"

I hit her in the head to shut her up.

"Hey! You fox! What was that for?!" she yelled, clutching her head.

I said nothing and continued to dry off my hair.

I heard the front door open and footsteps shuffle inside. "We're hooooome~!" Shigure shouted in his irritatingly gleeful voice.

Shigure barged in, umbrella in hand and Imai standing behind him, her arms full of books.

Shigure's expression looked surprised as he took in the scene before him. Imai took it in for a second with her cold eyes and then walked over to the table and set her books down.

"It's like I get a new surprise every time I come home from somewhere these days!" Shigure exclaimed, laughing as he folded his umbrella and walked further into the house.

Ayame grinned – the perfect picture of a true idiot – and exclaimed, "GURE-SAN~! How have you been doing, my wonderful friend?! Very well, I assume??"

Shigure nodded and smiled good-naturedly. "Yes, yes, very well indeed." He turned to look at Yuki, mouthing the words: "Have you told them yet?" Yuki nodded in reply.

Shigure turned his head back to Ayame and said, "So, you have heard of the situation we have here currently . . . well, the reason I wasn't here earlier is because my guest and I were out at the Sohma library. We're trying to find out more about the situation."

Ayame nodded. "Excellent plan, Gure-san!" he stood up from his seat and said, "Let us not interrupt your discovery making! We have fully understood your situation, and I believe our time is done here. We played a wonderful game of dodgeball, which Kagura's team won, and now we shall leave you to your own devices." He turned to Yuki. "Dearest brother, I feel like we have connected through the match of dodgeball, and I hope to continue deepening our unfathomable brotherly love!!" he exclaimed, outstretching his arms.

Yuki looked a little pale and sweaty as he took a good few steps back from his eccentric older brother.

I felt so relieved when they left. I thought the endless horrors of those idiots would never end, but it finally stopped. At least, for the most part.

Shigure sighed and leaned back in his seat. "So, now that they're gone, we can get to the real fun stuff!" he said with a smile.

Mikan grinned excitedly and asked, "Oooh! What is it? What is it?"

Shigure grinned mischievously and replied, "Studying! We got some great books from the library and we should take the free time we have today and use it productively! Especially since tomorrow you're attending Tohru-kun's high school. We got some books on attending high school, too."

Mikan looked a little disappointed, having stupidly thought that Shigure had something "fun" up his sleeve, but she nodded and smiled, looking at the massive stack of books on the table.

"Okay! I'll do my best!" she exclaimed, setting her face in a determined smile as she grabbed a book from the middle of the stack. I winced as the pile of books came tumbling down.

Imai sighed and muttered, "Baka." Shigure sweat dropped and Mikan smiled sheepishly.

Shigure gathered the books and spread them about the table. "Well, let's get started!" he said and grabbed an old looking book.

I sighed and took a newer looking book and placed it on my face.

~.*.~

"Mou, Polka. I give up. You're an idiot for life," I muttered, letting the book drop on the table with a thud.

"Whaaat?! Come on – I just need a little more help understanding this! Ugh! Well, I don't need your help anyway!" Mikan replied indignantly, sticking her tongue out at me and turning to study the book some more.

We had been reading books for a while now – first we read boring, useless books about the Sakura trees and the Sohma family history. Soon Shigure said he had someplace to go [although we all know that he just didn't want to read anymore], and Imai bailed shortly after he did, saying something along the lines of "I can't study with idiots around me – their idiocy spreads too easily."

So, it was just Mikan and I. I was attempting to try and teach her the simplest of the simplest High School math problems, but I should've known better and just stuck to the Sakura tree history. Mikan couldn't work a math problem to save her life. Actually, it seemed like she couldn't do _anything._

I heard Mikan sigh deeply. There was a minute or two of silence between us, and I wondered if she was actually reading and understanding the math. _'Yeah. Sure. And pigs can fly,'_ I thought with an internal snort.

Suddenly, Mikan's head rested against my shoulder. I turned to look at her, surprised.

She had fallen asleep – her eyes were closed and she had a serene, peaceful look on her cute, round face.

At first, I wasn't quite sure what to do here - if Shigure or Imai came in at this moment, they'd see this picture and bad things would happen. I could just see Shigure saying what a cute "couple" we were and Imai taking pictures to blackmail us with later.

But what did I care? I was enjoying this. This didn't happen everyday, you know? Let everyone else go die in a hole or something.

I gave a small little smile as I heard Mikan sigh peacefully and drift deeper into sleep. I decided she probably wouldn't wake if I picked her up.

So, carefully I let her head fall onto my lap so I could slide my arm under her back. I placed my other arm under her legs and then slowly stood up with her in my arms.

Mikan stirred but didn't wake. I looked around me and headed towards the room I was sleeping. I didn't want anyone to go near that cursed Sakura tree - I didn't trust that freaking tree one bit - so my room was the only choice.

I stepped into the room quietly and very gently set Mikan on the moonlit bed. Her face was so beautiful in the silver light, looking innocent and sweet and almost shimmery.

I sighed, not wanting to take my eyes off of her. If only she would see how I truly felt about her . . . but then, would she return my feelings? That I couldn't tell, out of all the things I could read from her wide, open book.

I remembered that time long ago when I kissed her, back at the Christmas Party. Some sort of courage - a different kind of courage than I usually had - over took me and I had kissed her. I almost wished I could find that courage again, but for some reason I just couldn't. Not even while she was sleeping.

So, instead, I just brushed her hair out of her face and pulled the covers up around her. Just as I was about to leave the room, she spoke my name.

"Na-Natsume . . ." she whispered, and a small smile appeared on her face.

I turned around, surprised. I wondered if I had wakened her - but no, her eyes were closed, her face had that dreamy expression, and her breathing was deep and steady.

Huh. I wondered what I would be doing in her dream . . .

This train of thought was stopped when a loud thud came from just outside the door, followed by a whispered curse.

Oh, this is just great. I've been watched this whole time. Just my luck, huh?

I walked out into the hall and saw Kyo, frozen in mid-stoop to get the book he had dropped. Kyo snatched the book from the floor and stood up so quickly a bone in his back snapped.

Kyo winced a little but other than that showed nothing but surprise. I gave him a death glare that I wished could kill him right there.

"What are you doing here, idiot?" I asked, trying to stifle the immense urge to set his hair on fire.

Kyo looked like he was trying to figure a hard problem out - he squinted at me and frowned for a moment, then said, "Wait . . . you _like_ her??"

I pretty much wanted to punch him in the face. His idiocy was even worse than Mikan's.

"Like you can't guess – didn't you see me just now?" I retorted.

Kyo blinked. "Uh. Well. You just didn't strike me as the kind who could 'love,' you know," Kyo muttered with a smirk.

I felt my fists itch with the need to plant themselves into that orange-haired freak's face. "I oughta--" I began to threaten, but Kyo interrupted me.

"If you punch me, you'll wake up your little girlfriend, you know. I'll make sure she does," Kyo smirked triumphantly.

I snapped. Within a second I had nice portion of Kyo's hair roasting. Before he could yell, though, I grabbed his collar and whispered menacingly, "You wake her, you die. I'll put out the fire for now, but just be watching your back, because this isn't over." With that I stormed away, leaving Kyo efficiently stunned and, hopefully, scared.

~.*.~

That night, I "slept" in a tree outside of the room Mikan was sleeping in. I didn't want to go back inside, and that unmentionable low-life bearing the name of Kyo slept on the roof, so that was not an option.

I gazed at the beautiful array of stars above me, glittering like dewdrops at dawn. I saw a couple of shooting stars, but I didn't bother to wish on them. I knew that it wouldn't do anything no matter how hard I wished. Believe me, I've tried plenty of times before when I was kid. It doesn't work.

I stayed in that tree, awake for who knows how long, thinking of the usual - how much I hated Persona's guts, how much I hated Kyo's guts, how much I hated the ESP's guts, and how much I loved Mikan's guts.

Wait - that came out wrong. Lemme rephrase that. I love Mikan. Not her guts. Well, maybe, in a way. Whatever.

Slowly, I drifted off to sleep, entering the familiar troubled dreamland. Instead of the usual Persona and ESP-themed nightmares, though, this one was a little different . . .

_I looked about me, and, instead of the usual pitch black, I was in a dark, eerie room that had a color scheme that consisted of black, gray and . . . red. A bright crimson red, which I recognized as blood. Troubled, I looked up and saw a pale figure lying on the ground. I could tell it was a girl, and she was beaten up, dirty, and scarred. Suddenly she opened her eyes. A pair of beautiful brown eyes - the ones I loved so much - stared at me sorrowfully, filled with pain and suffering. "Save me, Natsume! Save me!" she croaked, tears falling down from her eyes. I tried to speak, to move towards her and save her from whoever did this to her, but I was frozen. So I had to watch as a shadow came up to Mikan and kicked her. She groaned and began to cry. I felt an uncontrollable anger fill me, and I tried to set the shadow-guy on fire, but I couldn't do anything, not even yell or cry out to Mikan. So I had to watch the guy beat her up, and then finally stab her in the heart with a knife. She choked and cried out in immense pain. The shadow laughed cruelly and left the scene, leaving me to watch Mikan die. I couldn't do this. I wanted to die. I wanted that shadow to come back and kill me too. I can't live with out Mikan! Mikan, Mikan, MIKAN! my mind screamed, and I was in turmoil - nothing in my mind made sense anymore. All I could feel was pain. A cruel, unfamiliar laugh filled my ears as the place went black and I tried to yell, to cry, to do something to express my unfathomable grief, but, no, I was still frozen. So the silent scream built up in my chest as I listened to Mikan's final words to me ring painfully in my ears, over and over - "Save me, Natsume! Save me!"_

* * *

**A/N:** Well, I hope you all enjoyed chapter six. :] Dodgeball was fun to write about. Kyo having an ego high was fun too. x] I wish I could've played with that a little more, but I was impatient. P: I had planned the NatsuMikan moment that was in this chapter ever since I first thought of the idea. xD so I've been dying to actually write it. :D anyway, so sorry again for the late update. x[ You all know I'm very busy. I hope to get chapter 7 done sooner though. [We'll see how that goes. P:] Well, arigato for reading~! Please review and even favorite if you liked :D

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_"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! I cannot BELIEVE you!!"_

_"One should never be ashamed of love."_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N **Hey! SOOOO SORRY for this late update! My schedule still hasn't lightened up D: But it will really soon now. Please enjoy this chapter anyway!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Gakuen Alice or Fruits Basket.

* * *

**Tohru's POV**

"You _idiot!_" Tono-san shouted.

I winced as he hit Kagetora-san across the head.

We were back at Gakuen Alice, and Kagetora-san had evidently shoved Mikan, Hyuuga-san, and Imai-san out from under the tree before they could teleport. I had tripped and fell within the radius of the tree, so I accidentally came with Tono, Ruka, and Kagetora.

We'd been at Gakuen Alice for around ten minutes now, still at the tree. Kagetora refused to even speak to us, even when Tono-san hit him.

"Why did you do that?! Now since we don't know how to get back, we can't get Mikan and the rest! Or get Tohru-kun back! Just how hard is it to tell us what makes the dang thing work?!" Tono yelled, throwing his arms up into the air.

"Harder than you'll ever know . . ." Kagetora muttered almost inaudibly.

"What –" Tono began to ask, but was interrupted by another voice.

"Tono?! You're still here? Where's Mikan and the rest? I thought there were more of . . ." Tsubasa, Mikan's senpai, trailed off, standing there and looking hopelessly confused.

Tono sighed and replied, "Really, really long story. All you need to know is that this idiot messed everything up. EVERYTHING."

"Now you're exaggerating. I just –" Kagetora began, but Tono slapped him again.

"I don't care if I'm exaggerating! The whole point of going there was to get Natsume and Mikan back here safely!" Tono exclaimed. I could've swore I saw steam coming out of his ears.

Tsubasa gave us a weird look then shrugged. "Well, whatever the crap you're talking about isn't going to convince Jinno about Mikan and Natsume's disappearance. He's really pissed." Tsubasa gave a shudder.

Tono muttered a curse and said, "I'll deal with him . . .after I figure out what to do with these guys." He turned to Ruka. "You don't have class today, do you?"

Ruka shook his head. "No – none of us do," he retorted, cocking an eyebrow.

Tono brooded for a moment then said, "Alright, Ruka, I know that you'll probably just do the opposite of whatever I tell you to do, so just run along and mind your own business. Just whatever you do, _please _do not get in trouble. I already have a grumpier than usual Jinno to deal with, and that's more than enough trouble to handle all in itself." He then glanced at Tsubasa. "You – how about you take Tohru around for a tour? Keep an eye on the idiot while you're at it," he added, jabbing a finger toward Kagetora.

Tsubasa frowned. "And why should I listen to your orders, again?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.

Tono's eye twitched. "I'm dealing with Jinno, remember?"

Tsubasa chewed his lip, deciding whether or not to protest against his bossy senpai. Finally, he decided against it.

"Fine," he muttered, walking past me. "But don't blame me on anything!" he added as Tono walked away. Tono just snorted and didn't say anything.

Tsubasa's frown suddenly disappeared and a bright, cheerful grin appeared on his face. "So, now that Mr. 'I-think-I'm-so-great' has left us, we can have some fun. I know all the places around here – even the ones I'm not supposed to know about," he added with a lopsided grin. "Follow me!"

I smiled and followed him, Kagetora trailing reluctantly behind me.

Tsubasa showed us around the Elementary Division building first. It seemed even bigger than I remembered it to be last time I came here.

When we reached the Middle School Division, Tsubasa looked at us. "Okay, so I'm going to take you guys into the Middle School dorm now. Act like you're just a regular middle-schooler here, okay, Tohru? Shouldn't be too hard – if anyone asks, just say you're new here. Oh, and if they ask . . . tell them you have the . . . uh . . . amplification Alice, okay? That's what Tono has, by the way," he added with a smirk. "But, if they ask you to use your alice, say you can't because it seriously injures you if you use it."

I nodded and wondered how I would possibly remember all of that. But I smiled and just hoped I wouldn't have to.

Tsubasa led us into the building, where there were huge corridors overflowing with chattering students. There were boys and girls of all sizes and looks – I felt so overwhelmed! Especially since I went to a reasonably sized school that didn't have a whole lot of students – at least, not nearly as many as Gakuen Alice did. And this was just the middle school!

Tsubasa navigated through the corridors easily, and I fretted about losing him – I didn't know what I'd do if I did lose him.

I looked behind me and saw that Kagetora had disappeared. My eyes widened and I looked ahead of me to warn Tsubasa – but he wasn't there either!

I started to panic – where did they go?! I didn't know my way around here! What should I do?!

Suddenly someone bumped into me and I looked up to see an extremely handsome boy standing there, looking dazed. He saw me and smiled a dazzling smile at me, immediately causing me to blush.

"E-er – sorry!" I exclaimed, bowing.

He laughed. "Oh, no problem! It was most likely my fault – I'm not very coordinated."

"O-oh – ah – um –" I stuttered, not knowing what to say.

He laughed again. "You're a nervous one. Are you new here?" he asked.

I nodded meekly, not trusting myself to say anything.

He smiled again. "That explains why I haven't seen you here before," he said. I gave him a hesitant smile.

He looked around and motioned for me to follow him. "Come over here, out of the way. We'll get bumped into if we stay in the hall."

I hesitated for a moment, wondering where Tsubasa and Kagetora were and if they would be looking for me. But I had no hope of finding them anyway, even if I did go out looking for them. So my only choice was to go with the handsome boy.

We sat on a bench in the hallway. He smiled at me again and said, "So, what's your name?"

"T-Tohru Honda."

"Ah, I like that name! My name is Raiden," he said cheerfully. "Raiden Arai."

"A-ah! N-nice to meet you, Arai-san." I wasn't sure what else to say.

"Oh, please call me Raiden. I hate formalities," he said with a grin.

"O-oh?" I squeaked. I didn't do too well with strangers – especially handsome boys.

He smiled and I caught a glimpse of something in his eyes – I wasn't sure what – but it disappeared soon.

"You see, my father –"

"There you are!"

We turned to see Kagetora marching over to us, looking furious.

"Ugh, I HATE you! I've been looking all over for this girl, and it's you who took her away in the first place!" Kagetora yelled, standing in front of the bench we were sitting on. Raiden chuckled.

"Well, well. How was I supposed to know that she was already yours? Ha, you don't seem to be Tohru's type, but hey, I'm not one to—"

"ARGH! You don't get it – it's not like that!" Kagetora interrupted, furiously blushing.

By the time I got what they were saying, Raiden had turend to me. "So it seems like you've already met my brother then."

My mouth dropped. "Eehhhh?! H-he's y-your brother?!" I exclaimed, standing up in shock as I looked at the two.

They didn't look alike at all – Kagetora had jet black hair, bright icy blue eyes, and pale skin. Raiden, on the other hand, had sun streaked blonde hair, tanned skin, and deep chocolate brown eyes. Their personalities were completely different as well – that was so confusing!

Kagetora snorted and rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. I wish he wasn't. I can't stand him."

Raiden ignored Kagetora and chuckled at me. "Yes, and believe it or not, we're twins as well. Strange, right?"

"EHHH?!" I screamed, my jaw dropping even further, making me wonder if it would actually fall to the ground if it dropped any further.

Kagetora rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, surprising, shocking, 'you never would've guessed' – let's stop with the chatter and come on. Tsubasa-baka is extremely irritating and won't stop worrying about where you are," he growled.

I nodded and feebly stood next to him. I felt bad about leaving Raiden alone . . .

But Raiden smiled at me happily and waved. "I'll see you around, okay, Tohru-chan?"

I blushed a little and nodded, smiling back as I waved to him and followed behind Kagetora.

As we weaved through the building and down endless corridors, I made a little small talk, hoping to get to know Kagetora and his brother better.

"I had no idea you had a brother here! I think it's cool that you do. It must be nice to have family here," I said cheerfully.

Kagetora snorted. "Oh, yeah right. It might be to some people, but I have the worst family ever, so I'd rather them stay at home, where they belong."

"Oh . . ." I murmured, feeling sad. Kagetora didn't like his own family – he mustn't be in a good situation to feel that way. I figured that, even though he said he didn't like his family, he probably still cared for them deep inside.

I didn't want to probe, though, so I didn't say anything.

So, we walked in silence all the way to where Tsubasa was.

He was outside in a beautiful garden, looking puzzled as he sat under the shade of a tree, holding a cup of water. A girl was beside him, chattering away happily. She looked very pretty.

When Tsubasa saw me his puzzled expression cleared away instantly and he grinned broadly.

"Tohru! I knew Kagetora would find you!" he exclaimed, standing up to greet us. The girl looked dismayed that he walked away but got up and followed him.

Kagetora rolled his icy eyes and glared at him. "Slacker! And you blame me on everything . . . ." he muttered, looking at the ground angrily.

Tsubasa ignored him and said to me, "This is Avaron Omori, a friend of mine."

I grinned and bowed, saying cheerfully, "I'm Tohru Honda! Nice to meet you!"

Avaron smiled gently. I realized she was one of the prettiest girls I'd ever seen – she had long flowing wavy black hair and soft jade green eyes. I almost wondered if she was of royal descent.

"Nice to meet you too! May I call you Tohru?"

"Y-yes! Of course!" I replied.

She smiled. "You may call me Avaron, if you wish."

I smiled back at her. Tsubasa stretched and sighed. "Well, I guess we should find Tono, since we've given you a good tour of the place . . . we'll have to figure out what to do with you." He chuckled.

Avaron tugged at Tsubasa's sleeve. "Can I come with you? I'd love to get to know Tohru better," she said quietly with a smile directed at me.

Tsubasa nodded, although he seemed distant and pulled away from her grasp. I wondered if Tsubasa meant to seem distant or if he just happened to be distant at the time . . .

Tsubasa pulled out his phone and called Tono."Hey. You done with Jinno?" Tsubasa asked. There was a pause, then – "Oh. Oh boy. Weeell . . . yeah. She's right here." Tsubasa glanced at me. "We can't do that – Jinno will – what? Oh do you now? I don't believe it's going to work. Yours don't seem to function well." Tsubasa snorted. "Well, meet us in . . . my room. We'll all be there, and no one can overhear us there. Yes. No. You got to order me around last time. Geez. Whatever. Fine. Bye." Tsubasa punched the end call button.

He turned to look at us, squinted at us like he was trying to solve a problem, and then shook his head at some thought. Then he turned and strode confidently toward the Middle School dormitories.

"Come on! We've got no time to waste."

~.*.~

"Sorry sweetie, it's the only choice."

"B-bu-but! How – I can't – I don't –" I stammered.

"I told you – there's no other option. The school won't accept you without proof of your alice, and if they find you don't have one, then they shove you out. Then we can't help you anymore. Here, though, we can help you and possibly find a way to get you back to your home in the meantime," Tono said, trying to reassure me.

Didn't really work to well – I was still in hysterics. Tono had proposed that the only way to keep me here was to have me pretend to be Mikan. I hadn't expected that at all! And nevermind actually _doing _it! How was I supposed to pretend to be someone I'd only known for a day and a half?!

Tono sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Unless you want to hide in so

meone's room cooped up all day. Which I don't think is an option anyway, since I'm almost positive no one wants you in their room all day long."

Suddenly the door banged open and a loud "TSUBAAASAAAA!!!" came booming from the entrance.

A furious girl stood in the doorway, panting and looking wildly around. Her eyes stopped at Tsubasa and she marched straight over to him, ignoring the rest of us.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! I cannot BELIEVE you!" she screamed, grabbing his collar and tugging it.

Tsubasa looked sheepish and almost a little scared. I'm sure I would be – this girl looked like she wanted to murder him.

Just before she was going to smack him on the side of the head, she took in us shocked witnesses. She slowly calmed down – or maybe just masked her anger – and stepped back, letting Tsubasa go.

She looked furious still, but now I could see tears forming in her eyes as she stared at Tsubasa.

"M-misaki . . ." Tsubasa murmured hesitantly, looking sorrowfully up at her. "I-I didn't—"

"Don't give me your apologies. I don't want them. Just stay away from me," she warned, her voice shaking. She gave him one last long look and then stormed out of the room.

After a long, uncomfortable silence, Avaron was the first to speak. "W-what was that all about, Tsu-tsu?" she asked timidly.

Tsubasa didn't look at her. "Nothing. You don't need to know," he replied shortly.

Another uncomfortable silence broken this time by Tono. "Well, that wraps this up. Tohru, I'll lead you to Mikan's room. You can make yourself at home there. I think I may enlist some of Mikan's friends to help train you to be a proper Mikan decoy," Tono said, getting up from Tsubasa's bed.

I gave one last look at Tsubasa, still on the floor where Misaki had dropped him, and saw his face filled with lines of worry and sorrow.

~.*.~

The rest of the day passed by at an uncomfortably fast rate, so that before I knew it it was time for bed.

I dreaded tomorrow, since I knew I was now the official decoy for Mikan. I just hoped training would work and that I would do well.

I crawled into Mikan's small bed and pulled up her covers. I thought of how the training went today, and how interesting it was . . .

"_So, uh . . . she usually sits by Natsume and me . . ." Ruka began uncomfortably. I nodded, taking notes dutifully. "As you know, Mikan's alice is nullification . . . it's actually still unstable, so sometimes you could pretend like it faltered at that moment . . ."_

_Ruka had been chosen as my 'Mikan mentor.' We chose him because he was her only classmate left that knew the whole situation already. They guessed that he would know more about the way Mikan acts in everyday life more than Tsubasa or Tono would. Also, they didn't want to explain it to her whole class, either – they might get ideas about the portal and try to use it themselves. Ruka had protested greatly to the idea before, but we succeeded in convincing him finally. We were in the empty classroom that Mikan spent most of her time in._

_I raised my hand to ask a question. Ruka looked at me questioningly and cocked his eyebrows._

"_How does she act in class?" I queried. I knew this would be one of the most important things to get right, or else the teachers and her friends would see right through._

"_Uhh . . . well, she's outgoing, and she's quite friendly . . . she's got a lot of friends. And she's not afraid to challenge the teachers." I almost saw a little smile creep onto the shy blonde boy's lips._

"_She hates studying, and, well, let's just say it shows." He chuckled a little and continued, "Her favorite teacher is Narumi-sensei, and her least favorite teacher is, well, I think it's Jinno-sensei . . . but no one likes him."_

_I listened carefully as Ruka went into all the subjects and details of Mikan's life and her likes and dislikes._

_After just ten minutes of listening to him talk about Mikan, I could easily tell he liked her a lot._

"_She wears pigtails 24/7 as you probably saw, but Natsume and I think she looks better with her hair down," he said. I giggled and a second later Ruka realized what he just said. He blushed a deep scarlet red and was about to say something or take it back when I interrupted him._

"_No, it's fine – I know Mikan is a very likeable girl and I totally understand why you like her so. It's nothing to be ashamed of," I said cheerfully, a huge smile on my face. "One should never be ashamed of love."_

_Ruka blushed even redder. "I-I –"_

_I shook my head and giggled. "It's okay. I like someone too."_

_Ruka looked at me. "Yeah, but I bet he likes you back," he muttered with a sigh._

_I looked at Ruka sympathetically. "Actually, I'm not so sure about that." I rubbed the back of my head embarrassedly. "He's impossible to read and doesn't show his true feelings too well," I murmured. I thought of Kyo and how he always acted one way but felt another._

_Ruka gave me a long look. "Sounds a bit like Mikan. Except she doesn't know her true feelings at all," he muttered with a little chuckle._

_I smiled and giggled. "But you're very young – you still have plenty of time. Mikan will eventually realize her own feelings – she won't be, well, 'dense' her whole life," I told him with another soft smile. "Just don't lose hope!"_

_Ruka sighed and nodded. "Thanks," he murmured._

_Then he coughed and continued to tell me about Mikan. I listened and felt a sort of connection with Ruka from then on._

I smiled as I thought of how cute Ruka was in his innocent and young love. I just hoped it would turn out okay for him – he was too young to have a broken heart because of a woman.

I slowly drifted off to sleep, my last thoughts of true love.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey, hope you all liked this. :3 I had fun writing it. Well, I hope to write the next chapter sooner! I really do! Please review and fave if you liked. :D Thank you~!

Previews for Next chapter!

_"You're acting a little funny, Mikan . . . are you okay?"_

_"There is no way I am wearing that. I'd rather die."_

_"I love dances and I love dancing, but . . . do you think I could go in that?"_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**: Hey! sorry for such a late update! this chapter took longer than I thought, and I've been busier than I thought I would be. -_-" feel free to beat me up with metal poles.... JK! I'd like to keep my face! thank you! xD Well, please enjoy this chapter. BTW - ESP means elementary school principal. that's a mouthful and I didn't want to type that up again and again in teh chapter. *lazy* P: oh and guess what - this chapter is 13 pages long in word. and pretty much 6,000 words. *win*

**Disclaimer: **yeah. I own Gakuen Alice and Fruits basket. IN MY DREAMS. TT_TT *sobs*

* * *

**Tohru's POV**

"Mikan! Mikaaan! Wake up!!"

I jolted out of my sleeping position and gasped, looking around me with a dazed expression.

There were two girls before me, one with pink wavy hair and the other with straight black hair. They were grinning at me, but they also looked a little nervous.

"Get up, Mikan! Or else we're gonna be late!" the pink haired girl exclaimed.

Mikan? My name wasn't Mikan --- oh. Then I remembered yesterday's events and that for now, I _was _Mikan.

"All right . . . I'm getting there," I mumbled, stretching. My mind was still groggy and my vision fuzzy, but I managed to get up.

"We'll wait for you outside," the black haired girl said, and both walked outside.

I got dressed and was about to walk out when I remembered I needed to put pigtails on. I examined myself in the mirror and thought I looked a little strange with pigtails, but I did look a lot like Mikan. That was good. I figured her friends wouldn't notice the small differences. At least, I hoped they wouldn't.

I stepped outside and did my best to look cheerful like Mikan – which wasn't too hard, since I was pretty cheerful, too.

Only problem – I didn't know these girls' names. I was sure Ruka, my how-to-be-Mikan mentor, told me these girls' names, but I couldn't remember them for some reason.

Thankfully, I didn't have to – they chattered the whole way to class. I only had to make some Mikan-like comments and they were happy.

Eventually they got to talking about the spring dance in a week.

"They're ending the contest tomorrow – Anna and I were both wanting to enter, but we could use some help," the girl with the black hair said.

Anna continued her friend's train of thought – "so we were wondering if you'd want to help us," she said, grinning and nudging me eagerly.

I grinned and nodded. "Of course! It should be fun!"

Then the two both delved into the topic and spilled all the gossip and talk they knew about the contest.

"We've heard that the costume choices for the elementary school kids might be random – so the costume choices could get a bit wacky."

"The judges are going to be pro fashion designers and famous dancers! I heard that there might be one celebrity to sing a song live at the dance too."

"I think someone said that everything will be spring themed – even the outhouses!"

In class, which hadn't started yet, everyone was gossiping about the spring dance, which was apparently called the "Spring Fling." The room buzzed with activity and chatter – I wondered how Mikan dealt with this everyday!

A couple of students came up to me and talked with me, which always made me nervous, but it wasn't too hard to mimic Mikan. Occasionally, though, there would be a moment where I said something un-Mikan like.

When these instances happened, they would either:

Not notice

Give me a weird look then move on

Say, "you've been acting a little funny, Mikan . . . are you okay?"

I would reply to C) by saying, "Whaat? Of course I'm fine!"

Ruka kept giving me weird looks form the corner of the room where he sat, like he thought I would blow it at any second. It made me uncomfortable, but I ignored it and didn't let it get to me.

"Mikan!"

I turned to see the owner of the voice. It was Anna, and she was towing a tall girl with short brown hair and large brown eyes that had glasses covering them. She looked embarrassed but was letting Anna drag her over to me.

"Look! We have Kohaku! She can make her drawings come to life. This is gonna be great! With her and her drawings, we'll be undefeatable!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining. Nonoko, as I had learned the black haired girl was called, was grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh please. Just because you have the drawings come to life doesn't mean you're going to win," a snobby looking girl announced. "_I _have mind reading and illusions on my side!" She grinned and pointed to a spiky blonde haired boy and a boy with short light brown hair and glasses.

The spiky haired boy looked at me and mouthed "help me." My eyes widened and I grimaced. At the moment I didn't know what he meant, but just a second later I did.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! WHAT DID YOU SAY TO MIKAN, YOU IDIOT!" the snobby girl yelled, making everyone in the room jump and the spiky haired boy cower a little.

"I didn't say anything, P-permy!" he squeaked.

"YES YOU DID!" she stormed.

"Permy, Permy – she doesn't know how to treat her work team. They're going to rebel," Nonoko sighed sadly.

Just then a tall blond curly haired teacher bounded in, a large smile plastered on his face. An afraid looking teacher with black hair in a pony tail followed behind him.

"Good morning, class! Please take your seats and I will do roll call!" he announced brightly.

The eccentric teacher called off names one by one. When he called Mikan's name, I almost didn't answer when Anna nudged me. "Oh! Here!" I exclaimed hurriedly. Anna giggled quietly.

So, the day went on like such. All of the regular, non Alice related school work I knew already – this was elementary school, and I was in high school – so I found it easy. The hard part was remembering that Mikan didn't find this stuff easy.

Some of the teachers Mikan had were outrageous. Like Jinno-sensei – he was so unfair.

"Who would like to come up and writer the answer here?" he asked coldly, his metal rod crackling a little bit. I raised my hand without thinking, but he ignored me.

"Anyone else?"

No one volunteered.

So, Jinno sighed in disgust and said, "Fine, Mikan, come up here. I hope this isn't a joke."

I frowned as little, feeling discouraged that Jinno didn't think much of me. But then I remembered I was Mikan, so I headed confidently up to the chalkboard and wrote the answer.

Jinno glared at me and squinted a little, like he didn't believe that I could've gotten the right answer. Finally he grunted grudgingly and said, "Good. Go back to your seat now."

Back at my seat, Anna smiled at me, whispering, "nice! You must've studied!"

I just nodded. In the corner of my eye, however, I saw Ruka looking very pale and shaking his head a little.

After lunch, when we were heading back over to our classes, a voice over the intercom spoke:

"The elementary school principal would like to see Sakura Mikan, Elementary class B, and Nogi Ruka, elementary class B."

I stopped in my tracks. The principal? Oh no – I didn't do anything bad, did i?

Before I could go looking for Ruka, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Ruka and an academy official were standing behind me. The official was stony and expressionless, while Ruka looked like he was about to pass out.

He met my eyes and mouthed, "I think they've found out."

I might've blacked out a little, but I didn't remember much until I realized felt a cool breeze on my face and felt myself pushed into a slick black limo.

I clutched my seat as the officials drove us over to the Gakuen Alice HQ. No one spoke the entire time there.

The men in black herded us inside the immense building and through corridors bustling with people of importance. The way everyone in the corridor held themselves was intimidating – it was like they all knew they had a purpose in life, and also like they knew they were more important than most. Not all of them were unfriendly, though – some nodded to us as we passed. I even recognized a few of the teacher's faces.

Suddenly the officials stopped in front of a large door. We walked in behind them, and before us was large room with a huge window in the back. Light streamed in and there was a chair turned away from us, facing the window.

I looked to the side and saw that the walls were lined with dark, dangerous looking figures. They were teenagers, some younger than others – but they had an air about them that made you want to run and hide. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"The dangerous abilities class," I heard Ruka murmur in my ear, his voice barely audible.

"So. Mikan and Ruka. It's so nice to have you here today," a high pitched voice said. "Such a shame that I have to interrogate such _nice _young kids."

Something told me he wasn't ashamed at all.

"Are the other two coming?" he asked the shady guard standing beside his desk.

The guard nodded. "They should be here any moment now."

Suddenly the door burst open again, and two more identical seeming guards in black dragged in Mikan's senpais - Tsubasa and Tono.

The guards dropped them on the ground and swiftly closed the door. Tsubasa raised his head and glared at the back of the chair. "What do you think you're doing?!"

The ESP just laughed, sending shivers up my spine. "Oh, well, you're about to find out . . ."

The chair swiveled around and revealed a boy no older than 13. I had to clamp my jaw shut to prevent it from dropping in shock. I figured Mikan probably knew that the ESP was a kid, and it wouldn't look good if I was surprised at a fact I was supposed to know.

The ESP's boyish lips curled up into a cruel smile. He hopped out of his chair and walked over to where we were standing. I heard Ruka gulp.

"What do you want?" Ruka asked shakily.

The ESP's smile got wider. "I want to know what you did with my best student, Nogi," he replied, his eyes glinting a little.

"W-who are you talking about? I don't know what you mean."

The ESP laughed, but it was humorless. "Oh, you know all too well what I mean. Your best friend – Natsume Hyuuga. You know just how important he is. And if his friend were to somehow hide him, oh, well, his friend wouldn't like the choices I would have to make . . ." he murmured, his voice sickeningly 'sweet.' It was that kind of tone of voice that was more frightening than a yell could ever be.

Ruka's face turned even paler, but he set his jaw stubbornly and didn't say a word. The ESP chuckled and smiled again. "Well, I see . . . let's see if your companion here tells me more like a good girl."

He turned to me. "Well, well, Mikan . . . you're Natsume's partner, correct? So I'm assuming that you know where he is, hm?"

I shook my head. "N-no. I-I don't know where he is," I stammered.

"Such horrible liars you are . . . well, I have business with you, Mikan, dear, so I'll come back to you in a moment. Let's turn to the middle schooler and the high schooler – Mikan's senpais! Haven't you been known to help Mikan and co. with their wild adventures?" he asked. I could tell he was getting a little impatient; for some reason I feared this child more than I feared the guards, or even the Dangerous Abilities class.

"Look, we don't know where the kid is. Capiche?" Tono growled. I noticed that he was being held back by a guard; so was Tsubasa. I wondered why – I knew that they wouldn't dare to try and make a move in this place, where the walls were lined with students that had abilities made to kill.

The ESP's eyes narrowed. "Oh? Look. I'm not playing games with you kids here. Let me show _you _what will happen if you don't obey," he snapped, all traces of 'friendliness' gone. He snapped his fingers, and the guards suddenly grabbed me by the arms and dragged me to the center of the office.

Tono gasped, but before he could speak, two other identical guards held him back and covered his mouth.

I felt my eyes widen as a tall, dark looking figure came forward. Before I knew what was happening, an immense pain throughout my body. Every part stung and I felt like I was on fire. I think I remember screaming, but the pain is really all I can remember. The horrible, never ending pain.

When I thought I was going to die from such intense pain, it finally ceased. I collapsed onto the ground with a whimper. I heard Tono and Tsubasa yelling at the ESP.

"Will you cooperate, then? Or do you want the same fate?" the ESP questioned coldly.

The room fell silent for a moment, and then Tsubasa said, "Fine. Natsume is--"

"Right here," a cold voice spoke.

I wanted to open my eyes and see, but I couldn't yet - I was still paralyzed from shock.

Another uncomfortable silence followed as everyone took in Natsume. I heard Ruka gasp.

"What did you do to her?" he asked sharply, and I could feel his eyes on me.

"Only the necessary measures in order to find out where you were, Hyuuga," the ESP replied.

Suddenly my hearing began to dim, and I realized I was fainting. Slowly, the voices faded until I heard no more.

When I woke up, I was being carried swiftly. I managed to open my eyes and see Tsubasa carrying me. He had a stern face on and he looked straight ahead.

"Where . . . where are we? what happened?" I asked softly.

Tsubasa grimaced and shook his head. "I'll tell you in a minute. But not here," he added.

He carried me inside a building and then up a couple of stairs. I wanted to ask him to let me down so he didn't have to carry me - I knew carrying me up the stairs must be hard - but I realized my legs were still wobbly. I could feel it - they most likely would give in, and I could tell that wouldn't be helpful right now.

Finally, we reached a hallway, and then a door, which Tsubasa kicked open. He set me down on the bed, and I realized there were others filing in behind him - Ruka, Tono, and Natsume. I sat up uneasily, looking at everyone. I suddenly recognized this room - this was Tsubasa's room.

"What's going on, guys? What happened while I was out?" I asked, blinking my eyes a few times.

Tono coughed, looked around, and then closed the door. He locked it shut, then nodded to Natsume.

Natsume obviously knew what this meant, and then he did something really, really weird - he put his hand to his face and his face suddenly began to morph. When he removed his hand, it was another, kind young man's face - not Natsume's.

My jaw dropped and I looked questioningly to one person to another. "Whaaat?!" I exclaimed, but I made sure to keep my exclamation quiet. I didn't want to attract attention to our room.

"This guy isn't Natsume, as you can tell. It's Goshima. He can morph his face into another's," Tono explained quietly. Goshima smiled and nodded to me.

I blinked a few times and shook my head. "Wow. T-this place never ceases to surprise me," I murmured, my eyes wide.

Ruka also looked surprised. "How did you know that we were in trouble?" he asked Goshima.

"Well, the Fuukitai - the guards - weren't exactly discreet about taking Tono and Tsubasa away to the ESP's place. When the intercom called them to the office, they refused to go, so the ESP sent the Fuukitai after him. I know things around this place - news travels fast - and I knew what the ESP wanted from them. So I did the only thing I could," Goshima explained, shrugging.

"What happened after I passed out, though? How did you guys get us out of there?" I asked.

"Well, it took some work. Principal Kuonji - the ESP - wanted to know where I - or really, Natsume - had been, but I couldn't tell him, of course. I had to do some expert lying," he added with a wink and a friendly smile.

"Oh, well, of course, with the help of my expert tale weaving," Tono added with a smirk.

Goshima rolled his eyes and then turned to me again. "So, now it's my turn to ask some questions . . . I'm thinking that, since Natsume isn't really here yet, neither is Mikan. So I'm assuming you aren't really Mikan, are you?" he asked quietly, his eyes serious.

I looked quickly to Tsubasa and Tono for confirmation that this guy was one we could trust, and they nodded. I then nodded to Goshima. "You guessed right," I said quietly. Goshima just nodded.

"I would ask more, but I fear that it wouldn't be safe to discuss that even here. Also, I take it that you don't know much about it yourself."

I nodded. "We're working on it."

"Well, it's important that you hurry and find out the meaning of all this, and get the real Mikan back. Principal Kuonji is very smart, and one way or another he'll figure out that Natsume is still missing, and then he'll find out that you aren't Mikan. If he does, then, well, things could get ugly." Goshima shuddered. "Well, I'd better go - I don't want people getting suspicious," he said with a smile. He waved then exited quietly.

So, we were left with just Tono, Tsubasa, Ruka, and me. Tsubasa voiced the question we were all wondering: "What now?"

Tono sighed and put his hand to his face, rubbing it wearily. "I don't know. Tohr-er, Mikan, do you think you can stand yet?"

I nodded. "Yeah." I slid off the bed carefully and set down my feet on the ground gingerly. It stung a little, but I could stand easily enough.

"Well, we'd better send you back to your classes. Don't tell your friends the truth, no matter what. Just make up something, like he wanted to know why you were running in the halls or something," Tono suggested.

Tsubasa smirked. "Uh huh. Kuonji? Caring about kids running around in the hall? Maybe if they were running with flamethrowers, then, yeah, but he'd probably just end up recruiting them on his crew of dangerous pets," he said sarcastically. I could tell Tsubasa didn't think much of the Dangerous Abilities class - or the ESP. I didn't blame him.

Ruka coughed. "Well, let's get going then," he muttered. "I have to get back to classes too."  
Tono nodded absently. "Yes, yes, of course. Go on now," he said.

I walked over to the door and headed out. I almost tripped, but Ruka caught me. "Thanks," I murmured, and Ruka nodded. I had to kind of hold on to his shoulder on the way down the steps, which was a little embarrassing, but I was thankful I could walk. Having to have someone carry me everywhere was even more embarrassing.

We headed to class in silence the whole way, not really wanting to talk about what happened and what was sure to come.

~.*.~

When I entered Classroom B, I was bombarded with questions. Everyone wanted to know what had happened, why the ESP wanted to see me, what he was like, was he really only ten years old – I lost track of all the questions I was asked and hardly heard more than "Why –" then it was lost in all the other student's babble.

I finally silenced them by saying I wasn't allowed to tell what had gone on in there. It didn't satisfy them, but it quieted them at least.

They tried to question Ruka too, but he could just silence them with a look. Boy, he was almost as good at the evil look as his friend Natsume was.

Eventually they all got over the fact we visited the ESP, and they moved onto what they had been doing. Apparently, it was supposed to be free study, but everyone was working on their costume ideas for the Spring Fling costume contest. I was awed by all the ideas that we found.

When I reached Anna and Nonoko's table, I saw the Kohaku girl drawing pictures fervently and Nonoko and Anna squealing with delight.

"Yes, yes! It's perfect! That one!"

"No, no, that one! That one is perfect."

"What – oh look! Mikan is here. Mikan, Mikan, help us decide! Kohaku is drawing our designs and we can't decide which one to pick," Anna exclaimed, grabbing my arm.

I smiled and looked over at the designs. The drawings were 3D and sort of bouncing around on the table – they were literally alive. So I assumed that these would only be designs – the real thing wouldn't dance like this. At least I hoped that was the case.

Despite the fact they moved, they were beautiful, however eccentric. The first dress was very . . . er, eccentric. It was floofy and had an excess amount of maroon colored ruffles – they were everywhere. I imagined that if someone were to wear it, they wouldn't be able to see through all the ruffles, forget try and dance.

The second dress was sleeveless, with a tight snow white cotton top. The dress then flared out into a series of endless ruffles that stretched all the way down to the floor. The ruffles were each a different color, making a sort of rainbow flower theme.

I blinked a few times, taking in each dress. I didn't know what else to say, so I said, "Wow, guys . . . these are like amazing!"

Anna and Nonoko grinned. "Thanks!" they said simultaneously.

"Are you guys going to design a male's costume, too?" I asked, curious. They shrugged. "I don't know. We don't have any ideas for male costumes. We like girl costumes," Nonoko said, grinning.

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, same here. I just thought you might get a better chance with getting your costumes to win if you had a male costume too," I said, shrugging.

They nodded. "Yeah. Probably. Do you have any ideas?"

I thought for a moment. "Not really," I laughed a little.

Then Kohaku spoke up for the first time. "What if we did a fairy themed design?" she asked, her voice high pitched and small.

"Hmm, that might work. Tell us more!" Anna exclaimed.

"Well, let's say the girl's design could be like a series of petals wrapping around her. We're designing the elementary's costume, so maybe we could make it where it wraps over their shoulder with an asymmetrical sleeve. The petals could fade from a deep purple to a snow white. And we could make really pretty big wings," Kohaku explained, getting a little more excited as she explained. Her brown eyes began to sparkle. "Ohhhh this could get good! Lemme draw something to show you what I mean." Then she began to draw furiously.

In a moment, a beautiful dress floated across the table, looking exactly like Kohaku had explained. I reached out to touch it, and it flinched a little, but it felt so soft, like actual petals.

"It's beautiful! What would the male's costume look like?" I asked eagerly.

Kohaku thought for a moment, and then began to draw. What flew off the paper was beautiful – it was scaly, kind of. The shirt was like a dragon's skin and the collar looked like a open turtleneck. The torso of the shirt was a fiery red and the back of the shirt was a dark green. The pants were a charcoal black and looked like they were as light as a feather. The cuffs that encircled the arm ended in a point and looked stealthy. They faded from a jade green to the same charcoal black as the trousers.

I glanced at Kohaku, confused – this didn't look like a fairy. She sensed what I was thinking and shrugged. "I was thinking that guys didn't really like fairies, so instead of a fairy, I did a dragon like design. Dragons can be springy, too, right?" She grinned.

I looked at the ensemble with new eyes. "Oooh. I see now! It's really, really cool," I exclaimed. It almost looked like a real dragon skin.

Anna and Nonoko squealed. "Ooooh it's so cooool! So much better than our dresses!"

Kohaku looked embarrassed now. She was about to deny their praise when we heard a squeal of delight from a few tables down.

"EEE! It's beautiful! We are SO gonna win!" I recognized that voice. I turned and confirmed my suspicions – Permy, or Sumire Shouda, was squealing about the hallucination that Prez was shooting up into the air. My mouth dropped open at the sight.

The forest green dress had entrails like peacock feathers streaming out of it, and they shimmered with every movement. The dress itself was tight at the top and flowed out into ruffles in the bottom. It was knee length on one side of the dress and the other side was about ankle length. The whole dress shimmered and looked magical in itself. The gloves were made out of shimmery feathers as well.

I bit my lip and wondered if we were going to win or not. Chances were lower now with the beautiful peacock dress Prez had thought up. I decided to shove that thought out of my mind – it didn't do any good to worry about it.

"I think we should submit these designs. They're beautiful," I said with a smile, motioning to the petal dress and the dragon suit.

Anna and Nonoko nodded. "Yes, yes, it's perfect!" they exclaimed.

Kohaku smiled and nodded. "Okay. Let's do that," she said.

Suddenly, though, out of nowhere a hand reached over and snatched the petal dress. I gasped and before I could do anything, another hand had snatched the dragon suit.

There was a guy and a girl, cackling madly as they dashed out the door with our designs.

"Ah! Wait! S-stop! That's ours!" Kohaku yelled, standing up. They didn't listen and disappeared, still cackling.

Without thinking, I ran after them. I heard Kohaku, Anna, and Nonoko following me.

We did a mad chase around the school, through the labyrinth of corridors inside the school, and through crowds.

Eventually I had to stop. I started walking, gasping for breath. Kohaku stopped to a walking pace next to me, a pale sheen of sweat covering her brow.

Anna and Nonoko came up behind us a minute later. They looked even worse – they clutched their sides and leaned against each other.

"H-hey, Mikan . . . how about we go and find a teacher to help us catch those kids? You guys can go on with out us," Nonoko suggested, glancing up at me with big eyes.

I nodded. "Okay. Go ahead," I panted.

They smiled gratefully at me and nodded. "We're going to catch our breath for a moment," Anna said, flopping down on the grass.

"All right. We're going to lose them if we don't hurry," I told Kohaku. She nodded grimly and then set off at a steady pace, although not a running pace, for which I was grateful.

"I think it's too late to find them," Kohaku murmured, her brow scrunched up worriedly.

"Couldn't you just sketch up another one?" I asked.

She shook her head. "My alice is weird like that. I can only draw something one way once – the next time it seems to have a mind of its own and looks different. I'm not sure why it does that," she said, shrugging.

I sighed, disappointed. "Well, let's look this way . . . maybe if we can't find them in thirty minutes, maybe we give up?"

Kohaku nodded. "Sounds like the only choice we've got," she replied grimly.

So we set off. We told everyone we passed to watch out for a girl and a boy, both around ten years old, carrying either a dress that had a fairy design or a suit that had a dragon design. People agreed, but I don't think they really were going to watch out. They didn't seem too enthusiastic.

I began to look around and tried to pay attention to our surroundings, but for some reason I didn't recognize anything around me. We had already passed the Elementary School dorms, and we decided to not look in there because of its size. Anyway – even if the two kids were in there, we couldn't just barge into every room looking for them. It'd be hopeless in a place like this.

I glanced over at Kohaku and she seemed uneasy as well. I realized she must be a new student here. I just hoped she didn't ask me where we were, cause I had no idea either.

Finally a building came in sight, and I suddenly recognized it – it was the middle school dorm. I blinked and wondered how we had gotten _here_.

I was about to suggest we turn around when we heard a voice. Two teenage boys were talking, and I heard a teenage girl's voice once in a while as well.

I ducked behind a tree and pulled Kohaku with me. I slapped my hand over her mouth before she could make a sound.

I listened intently to what they were saying. I began to catch some of their conversation.

"There is no way I am wearing that. I'd rather die," the first boy's voice was saying. It was strangely familiar, but I couldn't place where I had heard it.

"Oh please. Of course you can. I know you do," the second boy's voice said teasingly.

There was a growl from the boy and I thought a fight might break out when the girl's voice intervened. "Are we here to talk about Tsubasa or what?"

"Oh, yes. We are. Sorry, my dear," the second boy's voice said warmly.

"Have you found out anything?" the first boy with the slightly rougher voice said.

"Not much, but I do know he's friends with the new girl Tohru, who, by the way, I haven't seen at all today. Seems fishy," the girl concluded. My heart started to pound heavily, making me wonder if they could hear it.

"Well, I've found some stuff that will blow your guys' mind. Wait until boss hears _this,_" the second boy said triumphantly. What he said next ruined everything.

"Well, I happened to overhear in the dorms this morning that Natsume hasn't returned yet. Also I heard Hotaru is missing as well, although the students haven't been informed of that loss yet. The best part of it all? Currently Mikan is not Mikan. She's an imposter. The real Mikan Sakura is somewhere else – probably wherever Natsume and Hotaru have disappeared to. I know that the boss almost found out about Natsume's whereabouts, but Goshima-baka busted them out by faking to be Natsume. Can you believe this?" the second boy exclaimed.

Kohaku gasped a little, and I could feel her brown eyes boring into me. I closed my eyes and felt like I was going to die. I had failed everyone. Someone had overheard the conversation at Tsubasa's room this morning. Now Kohaku knew as well, and I was sure that by tomorrow, this boss – aka the ESP – would know almost everything.

"Is this true?" Kohaku murmured. I bit my lip and stopped breathing, because, to make everything worse, Kohaku's whisper had been heard. I could tell by the suddenly stopped conversation and the silence.

"I think we've got some eavesdroppers," the female voice said sharply.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? The imposter herself!" the second boy's voice exclaimed. He peered his head over the tree, and I looked up to see the surprised face of Raiden Arai.

* * *

**A/N: **FINALLY. THE STORY IS EXCITING NOW.[at least I think. you tell me. ;D] *calls the media* hahahahaha no. :| I was waiting to write this part. I just had to think of it. :| Which took me 5 WEEKS UGH. [no actually it took me a week to write the thing, and it took me FOUR WEEKS TO GET A STUPID COMPUTER UGHHHH. *murders an orange*] Well thanks for reading this anyway. Hope you enjoyed.

**UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE NO PREVIEWS FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER.**

cause I fail. hard. D:

**PS: **Aren't buttons clickable? don't you want to click every single button there is? well this button down here is the most CLICKABLE and most FUN TO CLICK button THERE IS. So you should click it. Right now. :]


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N **Hey all! It's been so long since I've updated this. Jeez. I apologize greatly for this... My summer has been so crazy, and I had a huge writers block. :( I almost considered discontinuing this story. But I'm back! Yay! I hope you enjoy chapter 10~

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fruits basket or Gakuen Alice. Just this storyline and my OCs in the story. :)

* * *

**Mikan's POV**

I decided to be sick in the morning. "Hotaru, I'm not feeling well…" I graned, trying to look pathetic.

Hotaru rolled her eyes. "Baka. You're not sick. Get up," she ordered.

"But—!"

She whacked me on the side of the head. I yelped and fell out of bed.

"W-what was that for?" I yelled, clutching my head.

"For lying. And being lazy. Get dressed. If you're not out of this room in five minutes, I'm coming in with my baka gun," Hotaru said coldly and left the room.

I grumbled and muttered curses at Hotaru under my breath as I obeyed her orders. I knew better than to mess with Hotaru in the morning.

I pulled on Tohru's high school uniform – it smelled of Tohru, which wasn't an unpleasant scent. It reminded me of summer and fresh air.

Taking a deep breath, I looked at myself in the full body mirror. It was freaky how much I resembled Tohru, even with my hair up.

Oh crap. My hair. I groaned but I knew Tohru would never wear this style of hair, so I took out my beloved pigtails. _This is probably the worst part of high school. At least, let's hope that's the case. _I thought, biting my lip.

I glanced at the girl in the mirror one last time before leaving and heading out to the kitchen. Natsume, Hotaru, Yuki, and Kyo were eating breakfast on the new table. Or at least, they had been – they were all finished. Had I really slept in that late?

"Oh, you're up. Too bad, since I haven't used my baka gun in a while," she glanced at the self made weapon at her side. "Oh well."

Kyo and Natsume were pointedly ignoring each other at opposite ends of the table, while Yuki looked like he was still half asleep. Shigure poked his head in from his office and said, "Good morning, Sakura-san – or Honda-san, should I say?" He winked and then disappeared into his office again.

I sighed for about the thousandth time that morning and sat down. I took measly bites of my breakfast[which I didn't taste at all] and fidgeted nonstop with my hair until it was time to go.

As we headed outside and onto the sidewalk, I found myself glancing periodically at Natsume. I didn't remember a thing about last night – what had happened? I know I had fallen asleep while studying, but when I woke up I was in the guest room[aka Natsume's room]. How did that happen? And where did Natsume sleep?

Thankfully, Yuki stopped that train of thought. "Come on, guys. We're already later than we should be," he said, looking at his watch.

On the way, we ran into Tohru's best friends – almost literally. Yuki had been walking and looking at his watch, and almost ran into the black haired friend's back.

"Oh! Sorry, Hanajima-san," he exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly.

She nodded vaguely, then turned to look - no, stare - at me, which sent shivers up my spine.

Geez, what kind of people does Tohru hang out with?

The blond grinned at me widely, and I smiled back cheerfully, hopefully masking my true feelings of pure terror.

"Hey, Tohru! Still living with these bozos? I hope they're treating you all right. Riiiiight, Mr. Prince?" she half growled, getting up close to Yuki with a skeptical frown.

"You know we take very good care of her, Uotani-san," Yuki reassured, backing up a little.

Uotani sighed and turned away from Yuki.

"Let's get a _move _on! We're already plenty late, thank you!" Kyo suddenly growled, marching past us with an irritated air.

"What a butt," Uotani muttered, but she followed suit and continued to walk toward school.

On the way we introduced Natsume and Hotaru to Tohru's friends, which went fairly well. We said they were temporary exchange students from Hokkaido. Natsume said the usual "hn," and Hotaru gave a polite but monotonous greeting and that was it.

At one point[around the time I was wondering exactly why we were _walking _here], I realized Uotani was looking at me weird. Suddenly a little panicky, I cocked my head[seems like something Tohru would do] and asked, "What?"

"Oh, nothing, I just realized you looked a little different today. Like... younger or something. Did you take youth cream last night? I didn't know those things worked that well, especially on people like you who don't need them!" she explained, laughing a little.

I giggled, hopefully not too nervous sounding. "Oh, no... I must have had a good night sleep or something," I suggested.

Hanajima studied me for a moment, making me even more nervous. I probably would've peed my pants[or shall I say skirt?] had she not looked away a second later.

"So, uh, Tohru. That cute Hyuuga kid. Is he your boyfriend or something?" Uotani whispered, nudging my side.

My first reaction to this sentence? Thank God I have an extra uniform to change into.

"W-wh-what? N-no! Boyfriend? No. He's just a, uh, friend, um, um-!" I stammered, blushing madly.

Uotani started cracking up. "Ahh, Tohru, you don't have to take me so seriously! I was just asking. Don't have a heart attack," she laughed, patting me roughly on the back.

Well, too late for the heart attack thing, but oh well. I turned to catch Natsume's expression, and he had his poker face on, but I knew he heard it. Ah, but why would I care. I don't know. I don't care. At all. Yep.

Finally we arrived at the school and hurried in. I prayed we wouldn't have to do some dirty work in order to get Hotaru and Natsume in the school.

When we got to the desk, however, it looked like Shigure had done some work for us.

"The two temporary transfer students are here today as well... Hyuuga Natsume and Imai Hotaru, am I correct?" the nondescript secretary said, peering over her glasses. Hotaru and Natsume nodded, both looking _so _enthusiastic.

She checked us all in and we rushed out the door. I grabbed some schedules secretively, just in case.

I glanced down at my watch and almost crapped my pants.(about the almost wetting and crapping my pants: Is it just me or am I seeing a pattern here?)

Yuki hurried us down the corridor. "Geez, I have never been this late before. Let's get a move on!" he said urgently.

_So begins the day. So far so good! Maybe it'll stay that way._

Of course, it didn't stay that way. Of course not. What more could I have expected?

Guess where I was? I was in the girls' bathroom during a class. No, I wasn't playing hooky in some lame way. Here's what happened in a nutshell: I was daydreaming about some land, far far away when I was jolted out of my lovely dream by a rude teacher. He was like(although not his exact words), "I asked you a question! Now stop having fun and answer it!" and since I didn't hear it, I asked if he could repeat it. So he did. But guess what! The raven haired I-DI-OT who sat NEXT to me for some STU-PID reason, was smirking. At me. Dang. It. He. Ticked. Me. Off. So anyway, I didn't hear the question, the teacher noticed that I hadn't heard it, and said something like, "Well, apparently you have more feelings for this guy than your grades." Then he gave me DETENTION. I could've just accepted it. I probably deserved it. But Mikan took over and shouted, "What? But, that's not fair! First of all, I don't like this idiot. Second of all, it was his fault! He was laughing at me!" The whole class[except for that raven haired freak and Hotaru] gave me bug eyes. Mr. Raven Haired Know-It-All was shaking his head slightly, and I think I still saw him smirking. Ooooh, that did NOT help at all. I let out a little frustrated "Argh!" and stormed out of the classroom without another thought.

So here I am, contemplating my fate and how much I fail at life and how much I hate Na- I mean the Raven Haired Freak.

Really, though, I just hoped I hadn't ruined it all for everyone.

After a while, Uotani burst into the bathroom. She caught sight of me sitting on the sink and let out a sigh of relief.

"Tohru! Wa-ow! I never knew you had it in you!" she exclaimed with a quick grin. It disappeared, however, when she sat on the counter beside me. "But seriously. Are you okay?" she asked, looking at me with concerned eyes.

I nodded, but I buried my face in my hands, feeling stressed and unsure what to tell her. "I-I don't know what got into me... but I'm okay," I said, but I didn't take my face from my hands.

Uotani nodded. "I guess everyone has to have those moments, even you. It wasn't even that bad of a blow up, really, we were just surprised, since, you know... you're Tohru, the obedient one," Uotani laughed.

I managed to look up and smile a little, but my insides were clenching. Uotani didn't know _jack._

I almost wished I could tell Uotani the truth. Some part of me detested lying to Uotani and everyone else. At this point, I was almost considering telling the truth... but I knew it wouldn't help anything in the end. Besides, Hotaru and Natsume would probably give me a horrible death if I made all their suffering for nothing. They were getting so much attention because of their stony silence and somewhat mysterious air. Like usual. And apparently it irritated them. I decided to postpone thinking about this until I was in a better mood.

"Hey, Tohru," Uotani asked suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me the truth. What _is _your relationship with that black haired boy?"

My eyebrows rose with surprise. Not this question. I knew there were already some rumors flying around about Natsume and I being together. That ticked me off, but Natsume found it amusing from what I could tell.

"What do you think?" I replied vaguely, wondering why she of all people would ask that question.

"Uhh... I don't know, that's why I was asking," she replied. After a moment Uotani shrugged. "Well, it's none of my business anyway. Let's go."

We walked down the main corridor, which was slowly thinning of people due to the fact it was lunchtime already.

At one intersection of corridors,, I heard a voice - a familiar voice, coming from a hallway. I frowned, since it was a dark and secluded hallway that the voice came from.

I glanced at Uotani and said, "Hey, you go on a head of me and save a seat for me. I, er, need to, uh, check something really quick. I think I might've forgotten something."

She looked like she was about to protest for a second, but she shrugged and nodded. "Okay. But if you aren't at our table in like ten minutes, I'm coming to get you." She then walked off without another word.

I waited until she was completely gone before proceeding down the hall. Halfway down, I saw where the voice - no, voices - were coming from.

It was Natsume. Natsume and another random girl that was actually very pretty. And you know what?

They were kissing.

**Natsume's POV**

Mikan! I thought frantically. I shoved away the idiot girl who had practically tried to undress me.

The girl narrowed her eyes at Mikan and said venomously, "Tohru Honda - the goody two shoes. You here to steal Natsu-kun from me too? Aren't you happy with Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun?"

I personally had no idea what she meant, but I didn't care about that. What I did care about was the fact that Mikan/Tohru looked on the verge of tears; whether from rage or sadness or shock was still TBD.

Mikan was about to say something when her expression changed, like she had composed herself. She just sent a nasty glare worthy of myself and stormed off.

After I got out of my own shock, I turned to glare at the girl myself. Obviously, she didn't get the message. She fluttered her eyes at me(was that supposed to make her look attractive?) and murmured, "Now where were we?"

"Get off me," I growled, pushing her away.

"Natsu-kun, don't bother with her! Stay with me!" she pleaded.

"Get. Off. Me. I don't like you. Get it?" I spat. I then turned away without another word, heading after Mikan(wherever she might be).

I wondered what she thought, seeing me with that girl. Probably nothing good. I didn't blame her. What was interesting, though, was the fact that Mikan and I weren't together, so it wouldn't be like I was cheating or anything.

Why would she care, then? Despite myself, a small smile tugged at the corners of my lips. Based off of her reaction, this most likely meant she has - or had - some feelings for me.

That thought made my heart rise and fall at the same time. I had always wanted to find out if Mikan had feelings for me deep down, but never like this.

Of course, as soon as I enter the cafeteria, I see her sitting down with Tohru's friends, the Sohmas, and Imai. Apparently she was really good at hiding her feelings, since there were little signs left of her crying - you'd have to be searching for them to notice.

She looked up and our eyes met. Her chocolate gaze narrowed a fraction and turned cold, but then she looked swiftly away.

This made me a little frustrated. Why should she be so angry? Even if she did have feelings for me, we weren't freaking dating! It was like I did something off limits. She must know that I could get a girl too easily if I wanted.(it's the sad truth)

I sighed and headed over there, plopping myself right next to Mikan, because I knew it would piss her off.

Mikan sat down, not even glancing at me, although I knew she noticed me - I could see her right eye twitching. (It always does that when she's angry. I would know.) She began eating quietly, only speaking to the others occasionally.

Hotaru noticed something was out of place and glanced at me swiftly, her gaze questioning. I just shrugged and gave nothing away. Hell would freeze over before I tell _her _anything.

After about five more minutes, I was out of there. Nothing had changed, and I wasn't hungry, so I got up without saying a word and left.

I headed outside, the warm, sweet spring air welcoming me. I began to consider skipping the rest of school today. It would be a nice break from reality, and I didn't have to worry about suspension or anything, since this school was temporary (not that I would have worried about that at Gakuen Alice, anyway).

I sighed and looked around me. My feet had led me to the fence surrounding the school. Outside was the street, and futher more a nice looking park. Maybe I could take a nap in one of those...

I was about to climb over the fence when a voice stopped me. "Hey! You!"

I turned around slowly, taking in a tallish, sandy haired boy. He grinned at me and said, "Sorry to stop you from skipping school - I know you were about to climb that fence - but we need help with the party preparations. Do you think you could help us?"

"Party preparations?"

He looked surprised for a second, and then realization spread across his face. "Oh yeah, you must be the new exchange student. Welcome! I'm Roy Nakashi." He bowed, then continued, "Our school is having spring bash sort of thing. A lot of schools are doing it, but I guess that's because it's just a great time to have a party." He grinned again. He waited to see if I responded, and when I didn't, he asked, "Now, can you help us? We really would appreciate it."

I sighed, but shrugged. The cheesy grin on Roy's face widened and he motioned for me to follow him. "Come on! I'll show you where the preparation room is."

He led me back inside and into a room full of people milling about. Some were making banners, others hanging things up, and I could hear the clanging of pots and pans in the next room - a kitchen? I was almost impressed.

Roy beamed and turned to me. "So, you can help hang things up. There's a shortage in that department. Thanks!" He then walked away, heading toward a different group of people.

I stood in the entrance for a moment, wondering if I should really help him or not. But before I could decide, I caught sight of a certain Mikan also hanging things up.

That surprised me, but didn't tick me off. No, what ticked me off was the fact that Mikan was on top of a ladder, with Momiji trying to steady the ladder, both of them laughing as she tried to actually hang up a banner without hurting herself.

I guess this was payback, because it certainly got me. I stormed over to where they were, and Mikan instantly caught sight of me. She looked down in disdain, but Momiji smiled at me. "Good afternoon, Hyuuga-san! Did you come to help us?" he asked cheerfully, taking his hand off the ladder to wave at me.

I was about to utter some very colorful words when Mikan screamed. Momiji and I both looked up to see Mikan's ladder falling straight down toward us.

Making a split second decision, I held out my hands and braced the ladder, trying to stop it.

Bad idea. I stopped the ladder, but the sudden stop sent Mikan flying into Momiji.

Oh crap.

* * *

**A/N **Ahahaha. I love cliffhangers. :3 Natsume knows about the secret(he found out in chapter 3) of the zodiac - just in case you forgot(it's been a while ^^;). Well, I hope I can write the next chapter soon... no promises, though, since school is starting soon. I'll try my best~

**Sorry, no previews this time. :( **

...

But a review would be nice instead :DDDDDD I really need some to boost my creativity and confidence for the next chapter. _


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N **So, yeah. I apologize for taking such a long hiatus without warning, but you guys are probably already used to that...still, that's no excuse. Anyway, everyone's lovely reviews lately have inspired me and I'm ready to start writing again.3 I hope to wrap things up in this story soon so I can start on the other story ideas I have. I'm really excited about them, but I promised myself I wouldn't write any more fanfics until I had finished this one, so yeah. x3 So, before I continue on with the story, a dedication/replying to my lovely reviewers so far is in order. :)

**The Innocent Bystander **Thanks :D and thank you for reviewing - and more than just once! I really appreciate that :)  
**Anne Whitehead **No worries, I wouldn't leave this story alone... (of course it might seem like it sometimes _ I'm sorry "orz /sob)  
**Aliceneko-chan **Hohoho yes :3 Their fighting scenes are the most fun to write. ^^ Glad you like it and thank you for reviewing3  
**BloodlyCherryBlossom **ILY TOO :D and it's okay - review whenever you feel like it x3 Just as long as you review x'D  
**theforgottencreatures **thank you! :D I hope I can update soon, too xD this story kills me whenever I don't update. x_x  
**Me **Ah, thank you, "me!" :3 haha those are my favorite parts too x) I hope I can have some more...although I might force them to work together, too, just to torture them some. x)  
**Dark Neko 4000 **Well, I couldn't tell you that now, could I? Or it wouldn't be a surprise. ;)  
**AmuKuroNekoHime **asap :) Thanks for reviewing3  
**fbgalover3 **Aww, thank you! I'll keep trying hard to stay motivated and update for you :)  
**wahmhy2x **Thank you! :D and the next chapter is out now, thankfully. I hope to update more frequently, now that my muse has returned. ^^ And about Kyo's true form...well, you'll see. ;) Thanks for the kind words3  
**XxnatsumikyohruxX **thanks for the encouragement3 I'll do my best! :)  
**Sakura Breeze **Thank you3  
**Hellomeyay **It's here now, thankfully! I am so sorry that I made you wait. :( I really am. Crap just turned up, and yeah. But me and the Sakura Portal are back! :D Huhuhu I love Kyo, Yuki, Haru, Natsume, and Mikan, too :D I'll never get tired of those guys3 Anyway thanks for reviewing :D  
**RavenshadowPhantomhive **YES! I WILL! :D Thank you for reviewing and reading33

So! That's all! Please forgive any mistakes (I had to rush editing this _;) and enjoy the story! (oh, and I don't own Gakuen Alice or Furuba. Just my OCs and the plot.)

**Tohru's POV**  
For a moment I was paralyzed. I just sat there, staring into Raiden's warm brown eyes. I quickly tried to regain my senses and said feebly, "U-uhm, hi...we were just looking for our dress designs, some kids ran away with them - we'll go now, sorry for eavesdropping-"

"Ahaha, don't think you're getting away that easily, _Tohru-chan. _I know your secret now, sweetie," Raiden said, grabbing my collar to stop me from running away. "I think I'll keep this one here, too. I'm sure she knows something as well," he said. No matter how much I struggled, he was still stronger and he pulled us to where the other two teens were standing.

I rubbed my head and looked up to see Avaron Omori paying two kids. The two kids held Kohaku's clothing designs. "Good job," Avaron was saying. "It worked perfectly. Now scram."  
They nodded and ran away, looking eagerly at the money in their hands.

"So, what do we do with the little brats?" asked a boy that looked like a mix between Kagetora and Tsubasa.

"Well, take them to the ESP, of course! What else did you think, Hayate?" Raiden asked, looking at him incredulously.

Hayate frowned and opened his mouth to retaliate when Avaron slapped her hand across his mouth. "No, don't say anything. I don't want to listen to more of your guys' stupid bickering," she snapped. "Let's just get these guys to where they need to be and go."

Raiden smiled good-naturedly and put up his hands in surrender. "All right, all right, don't be so hasty, sweetie. Can't help but correct the ignorant. Anyway, let's go, Tohru-chan," he said, turning to me.

I refused to get up, shaking on the ground. "No. I don't want to go to him. I won't. You've got it all wrong - I'm Mikan, I swear -" I protested. I had to keep this going if it was going to work. The ESP couldn't know about the Sakura Portal.

Raiden just smiled. "Oh, try as you might, it's too late. We already know - we heard it from your own lips. Now, I'll say this one more time, and if you don't listen, you won't like the consequences. Shall we go?" he asked, stretching out his hand.

I shook my head, despite the fact I was scared out of my mind about what he might do to me. Who knows what sick power he has up his sleeve?

He sighed and actually apologized. Then he approached me and rested his hand on my head.  
Suddenly an excruciating pain spread throughout my body. I heard myself scream faintly and the blinding white pain only grew worse with every hour-like second.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of pain, I felt myself slowly ebb into sweet unconsciousness.

**Kyo's POV**  
I jumped up out of my seat, disturbed by the daydream I had just had.

"Kyo? Do you have something to add?" the stern teacher asked, peering at me from behind his glasses.

I grunted and gave a shake of my head. I slowly relaxed as I remembered I was inside the boring classroom, learning about who knows what.

However throughout the rest of the class the dream haunted my mind. I couldn't exactly remember what the dream was about, but my hair stood on end and my muscles were tense, so it was certainly not good. I traced circles on my desk with my finger as I tried to remember what it told me...it seemed to be important...

_RIIIIING!_

I leaped out of my seat again, looking wildly around. I heaved a sigh of relief when I realized it was just the bell signaling the end of the day. I rubbed my face and then shoved my way out of the class, wanting to get home as soon as possible.

"Hey! Where're you going?"

I turned around, my irritation level rising by the millisecond. This had better be good, I thought. Otherwise somebody's going to get their head bitten off.

"Sohma-san! Come here! It's important!" a short boy with glasses exclaimed, panting.  
I cocked an eyebrow and said impatiently, "What's important?"

"I-It's about Sohma Momiji-san and Honda Tohru-san."

My eyes widened. "Tohru? Momiji? What happened?"

"Come on - I'll show you."

I followed the short boy, worry spreading in my heart. Had someone found out that Tohru wasn't really Tohru? And what had Momiji done?

The kid led me to the place they were making the preparations for the spring party. I walked inside to hear a bunch of surprised chatter and wary stares. I looked around but didn't see Tohru-Mikan or Momiji anywhere. I turned to the boy and asked him impatiently, "Well? Where are they?"

He looked as confused as I was. "I don't know, they were here a moment ago."

"Well, what happened, then?" I demanded.

The boy hesitated then said, "Well, Honda-san fell, and she fell on top of Sohma Momiji-san. Something strange happened, although I can't remember what exactly -"

"Okay, yeah. I-I need to go find them," I muttered, cutting him off. I knew exactly what had happened now. But how they had lost their memories so fast was a mystery to me. There was no way any Sohma with memory erasing abilities would find out about this incident so fast and then be able to erase this entire crowd's memories. So how?

I mingled with the crowd, thinking hard as I went until I was stopped in my tracks by a flash of a man in a black suit.

A chill ran down my spine. I glanced around, trying to reason with myself that it might be a policeman coming to investigate - but then I caught a glimpse of several more. They moved with inhuman speed, and the aura they cast sent more chills down my spine. I bit back a curse. Men in black suits are never good, especially when escaping a suspicious scene unseen from everyone else.

I took a breath to steady myself, but the more I ran through the scenarios in my mind, the more I panicked. These men might have taken Mikan and Momiji, and erased everyone's memory while they were at it. I was almost surprised they didn't erase Tohru and Momiji from everyone's memories entirely.

I was about to pursue these men when I felt a small hand on my shoulder. I turned around, but before I could see who it was, the person dragged me away from the scene.

I tried to protest but another hand clamped over my mouth. I flailed and tried to catch people's attention but they were too caught up in their confusion to notice. So I was dragged into the empty school halls and then outside.

When we reached the outdoors, the hands let go of me. I swiveled around to see Natsume standing there, looking even more pissed than usual.

"What's your problem? You could've just told me to come with you rather than-" I stopped myself for a moment, not willing to admit he'd scared me half to death. So I said instead, "Rather than dragging me out like that."

Before I could let loose some more cuss words, he held up a hand and said, "You would have asked questions and argued before you came with me. This was easier and faster, and we can't talk freely under the circumstances. Even now we must be careful," he lowered his voice, his crimson eyes darting back and forth, as if he expected the shadows to leap to life and attack him.

"So you saw the men in suits," I said.

"No duh. I was there at the scene when it all happened. Mikan fell on Momiji and Momiji transformed. The crowd freaked, and I tried to get to Mikan and Momiji, but everyone crowded around them and tripped me. I had to escape the place in order not to get trampled. When I came back, everyone was confused. I was just as confused, but when I saw a man in a suit disappearing, I knew exactly what had happened," Natsume explained.

I frowned. "Wait - how do you know what happened? Do you know who they are?" I asked.

"No, not exactly. But I can guess. They're probably officials working for someone. They're probably Alices," Natsume replied.

"If they're Alices..." I trailed off, my eyes widening. "That means they used the Sakura Portal to get here!"

Natsume nodded. "Yes. So we're not the only ones to know about it and to use it. Except I have a suspicion that these people know how it works. So if we can find them and get them to tell us how it works, it would solve everything."

My hands clenched into fists eagerly. "Yes. Let's get going!" I said.

Natsume cocked an eyebrow. "Where? We have no idea where to go," he replied coolly. "We've just assumed everything so far - we don't even know if we're right."

"But we have to be!" I retorted. "Well, you can stay here and mope about how we can only assume. I'm going to go find evidence." I turned around and marched back into the school, feeling triumphant. Let the little brat eat _that. _

In my blind triumph, I didn't notice someone standing right before me, blocking my entrance to the party preparation room. I bumped straight into the man.

"Hey, move it, will ya..." I began to yell, until I actually absorbed the person before me.

He was in a suit.

I cursed and backed up quickly, almost tripping over myself. "Uh...hi there...I, uh...," I paused, looking behind me. Where was the little brat when you needed him? "...just wanted to get by...if you could kindly let me pass, that would be great?" I asked, my voice squeaking feebly at the end. _Crap. First I run into the stalker-in-a-suit dude, then I go and act stupid in front of this dude, _I thought, cursing myself over a few times yet again.

The man didn't respond, only loomed over me in a creepy fashion. I frowned. Was he trying to intimidate me to death?

Shortly after wondering that, a stream of men came pouring in from the doors. They came in single file, looking like well groomed army men. Their faces were stoic and emotionless, and their motions were swift and graceful yet still mechanic in a way, as if they stalked random high schoolers everyday.

They surrounded me in a flash, forming a perfect circle. My fists clenched as I watched their mechanic movements. How am I going to get out of this mess?

Suddenly the hairs on the back of my neck tingled, and I stepped aside just in time to dodge a suited man falling to the ground. I turned around to see Natsume, one fist clenched and the other smoldering with fire. His eyes gleamed and he stepped towards me.

I backed up, raising my hands. "Whoa, don't get near me with that fire. I'm not the one you want to kill, remember?" I said, eyeing Natsume's flame warily.

"Shut up and focus! Why would I be here if I wanted you dead?" he spat. Suddenly his eyes widened and he yelled, "Duck!"

I dropped to the ground. After a moment, I looked up to see a fist that had just barely missed me. My heart began to pulse excitedly, and I felt a rush of adrenaline renew the energy in my bones. I grinned and met Natsume's eyes for a moment; my excitement was reflected there. Even if we hated each other and thought differently about everything else, the one thing we shared in common was the love of battle.

The rest came easily. I snapped up to a standing position, my fist meeting with the man's jaw. He flew back with the impact, slamming into two other men. Punch, kick, dodge, defend, repeat.  
After several repetitions of this pattern, there was only one man left. He stood there, facing us with an emotionless look. I took a step forward, ready to finish the job, when Natsume stopped me. I frowned at him, confused. He gave a slight shake of his head.

The suited man noticed our hesitation and used the moment well - he made a run for it. His super speed aided him, and he was gone in a second.

"Great. Now he's gone - we would have beaten them all! Why did you do that?" I asked Natsume, agitated.

Natsume gave me a bored look. "Do all you ever think about is winning? I let him go so we can follow him. He'll give us a head start on where Mikan and Momiji are, and maybe in the long run Tohru," he replied, examining his nails.

I bit my lip, realizing he was right. I snorted and turned towards the door. "Let's go, then! He's probably halfway there already!" I exclaimed.

Natsume nodded. "I hope you aren't tired from all that fighting, stupid cat. I'm not waiting for you if you can't keep up," he said, then bolted out the door after the suited man.

I sighed and ran after him. For once, I wasn't upset at his taunts. I smiled. _Tohru._

**A/N **Well, there we go. Sorry for such a short chapter, but I couldn't find any more muse for this particular chapter, and I needed to get this off my chest...anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapters shall be action and drama packed, so stay tuned! :D I'll hopefully have the new chapter out in...two weeks max? I'll set that goal for myself. Well, see you all next time! Please review! The more reviews I get, the faster I'll type. :)

Previews for next chapter!

"_Oh, fancy meeting you here, _Cat_..."_

"_Who...who _are _you? You're...not Tohru, are you?"_

"_Why does she hate me? I only did what I had to - you understand that, right?"_


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